


Everything is Horrible

by MetaGiga



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Beaches, Bodyswap, Clothes, Crying, Cute, Developing Friendships, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Relationships, Friendship, Gen, Gender Issues, Gender or Sex Swap, Hilarity Ensues, Identity Issues, Island Mode (Dangan Ronpa), Jabberwock Island (Dangan Ronpa), Komaeda Nagito's Luck Cycle, Mental Breakdown, Original Character(s), Originally Posted Elsewhere, Other, Psychological Trauma, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Acceptance, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, Self-Worth Issues, Weird Fluff, Weird Plot Shit, body switch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 41,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24582043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MetaGiga/pseuds/MetaGiga
Summary: I’m not sure how I got here. I just remember going to bed as usual... Then I ended up here. I don’t remember anything weird prior to that. But now, here I am. On a tropical island with a bunch of high school kids... And a talking stuffed bunny. And there’s no possible way to leave. And I’m trapped in the body of a fluffy haired teenage boy.My name is Ginevra Harris.And I’m not supposed to be a boy.Everything is horrible.
Comments: 93
Kudos: 99





	1. The Beginning of Paradise

Waves.

That's what I woke up to. A pleasant melody of the gentle crashing of the tide. As this calm pattern continued, I lethargically opened my eyes half way and closed them again to continue my slumber. The sand beneath me just felt so soft. It was almost like sleeping on a big bed of warm silk. So smooth and—

Sand? Why was I asleep on a blanket of sand? My memory was all jumbled up and distorted... Who was I..? What was my name again..?  
Right, right. Ginevra Harris. Part time job at a pizzeria. Hoping to be a baker or a chef. Still live with my parents. Yup. It's all there.

Lazily, I sat up, groaning as my vision cleared, the blurs of blue, yellow and green slowly shaping themselves into the scenery that was around me, eventually molding itself into a tropical beach.

A beach? What? How did I even end up on a beach? I live nowhere near a large body of water in the first place and I doubt someone would kidnap and take me hundreds of miles just to dump me off on the shores of one... I also don’t remember anything like that happening the previous night... It was just a regular day that ended with me going to sleep in my bed, same as always.

Does that mean someone took me here while I was sleeping and ditched me on a beach? No, I would definitely have noticed something like that... Did whoever do this took the liberty of sedating me beforehand? But there’s not really anything to gain from doing any of this to me in the first place... Everything about this just wasn’t. Making. Sense.

As I was about to put a hand over my eyes to calm an impending headache, I stopped as I got a good look at my hand. My fingers were in no way this long or thin, nor were they this pallid. Sure, I was pretty pale in general, but now I was the color of a goddamn sheet.

Curiously, I flexed them out, balled them into a fist, turned them over, flexed and balled them again... Yep, these were mine. But at the same time, I knew that they weren’t. Strange.  


After taking in this information, it was then that I began to notice everything that was completely different about me. The first thing was the fluff of white that tumbled over my eyes as I slowly got up from the ground. Using my new hands, I lazily brushed it away only to have it flop back over my eyes. With more attempts to clear it away from my vision in similar ways, the same results happened, leaving me irritated with the constant failures.

Finally, I resorted to pulling the fluff away, which only resulted in pain. What the hell..? Was it stuck to my head? Feeling around my head, the same softness was present, just as fluffy as what I now had in front of my face, indicating something disturbing. Somehow my brown, slightly curled hair had turned into untamed fluffy white locks on my head.

Slowly moving my—are they even mine?—hands down, I could feel textures of clothing different than what I remembered wearing. Glancing down to further investigate, I could slightly make out the articles of what I was now wearing. Green hoodie—or was it a parka? Yeah, I think this is a parka... Then there’s a white t-shirt with a really unique crimson design on front, black pants with a chain on one side, boots with two zippers... I guess this could be considered a look. Then again, I don’t really have anything to properly witness this outfit, so I’m not exactly sure.

But wait.  
Something about how these clothes fit was strange. I mean, they didn’t feel uncomfortable, but it felt as if they wouldn’t normally fit me. In fact, something in the back of my mind told me that something was seriously wrong with my physique.

Feeling my torso down to my hips and...ass...I could feel myself begin to frown. This all felt so... Wrong. None of this felt like mine. I just felt so much thinner. Not in a good way either. Almost to the point where it was unhealthy. Was I in a coma or something? Feeling back upwards onto my chest, I froze in horror. 

My chest was flat.

I, a twenty three year old woman who has had her defining features for more than a decade, has now spontaneously had them disappear in the span of a single night.

I started to panic as my breath started to quicken, now feeling all over my chest in a futile attempt to find my now-absent breasts only to find a flat chest. It was then that my heart began to beat faster as I now was openly aware that I had undergone an extreme physical change.

Feeling my legs cave in on me, I fell into a sitting position—from a much higher height than what I knew that I was—and I put my hands in my face, hoping that maybe if I did that everything would go back to normal.

Wait.

What about my face?! Is my face different too?!

Shakily removing my hands from my vision, I crawled towards the crystal clear ocean. The water didn't show anything until I stared for a few moments, but eventually, my reflection came into view.

Normally, someone would see their own face staring back at them. The face that they were born with. Me? Staring back at me was a boy, probably seventeen or so, with the same wild hair that I now had.

The more I looked, the more the boy's eyes began to widen. Though not much detail can be made from just looking in water, it was confirmation that I was no longer myself.

Nothing about the real me was present. The boy that I was staring at started to tear up as my vision began to blur with tears.

"N-no way..." I stammered in a voice that was not my own. It wasn't the nasally feminine voice that I had become accustomed to using. It was slightly lower in pitch and more masculine than the one I have lived my life with. Speaking with it felt absolutely bizarre...

Putting a trembling hand on my my throat, I tested the new voice, half to see if my ears weren't playing tricks on me and half out of curiosity.

"Mmmm... Aaaah... Eeeeh..."

As I experimented with my voice, I could feel my throat moving up and down with each sound made. It wasn't my imagination. It really was me.

If this were a dream, I would have woken up a while ago. If this were a dream, it wouldn't last as long as this. If this were a dream, I would be dreaming about something else right now.

Was this real?  
No, it can't be.  
Yet, the cool splashes from the ocean's gentle waves on my hands confirmed it. This was real. A dream could never accurately fabricate the exact feeling of cool water against skin.

And no dream could accurately fabricate the feeling of the sand going through my fingers as my hands curled into fists on the wet beach as I continued to gaze at my reflection. Nor could a dream accurately replicate the tears that were going down my face either. I just couldn't help it.

Curling myself up into a shivering ball, I began to sob. This was just too much... Too much... Too much...  
I'm not sure how long I was crying, but it eventually turned into shaky gasping as I continued to be in my protection-ball.

That's when I heard an extremely childlike voice call out, "Oh my goodness! Are you okay? Pwease don't cry!"

'Pwease'? Who the hell says 'please' like that other than to children? Wait... Do I seriously look like a little kid right now? I wasn’t in any condition to reply and the girl could probably see that, because instead of asking me for an explanation, I could hear small footsteps come closer towards me.

The voice was now right beside be.  
"This field twip's supposed to bwing joy and hope to all of you! Not icky things wike sadness and despair! Seeing my students sad makes me sad!" she comforted as I felt what I assumed was a hug around one of my legs. I must admit, it really did help a little... But no amount of kind words could possibly make me feel better.

Apparently, the little girl sensed this and I could feel someone sit beside me. "How about you tell your teacher what's wong? Telling people about your pwoblems is always better than bottowing them up inside! And that's the twuth!"

Slowly raising my head from my arms and knees, I turned to the girl, "Well, I doubt you'll believe me, but—“

It was not a girl that I was talking to.  
It was some sort of stuffed bunny wearing a fairy princess costume. I'm guessing that's the girl's stuffed bunny. But where was the girl that was talking to me? Scanning the area around me, there wasn't anyone in sight.

"What won't I bewieve?"  
I jumped to my feet and quickly turned to the stuffed bunny, which was looking RIGHT AT ME with its beady eyes. Was... The little girl I was talking to... Actually the stuffed bunny?

No way. I promised myself that I would NEVER do drugs. There's gotta be a microphone in it or something. Picking it up, I began inspecting it for a zipper or places where its seams were a little off.

"H-hey! What are you doing?! There's supposed to be no hawassment on this school twip!"

Nothing. No seams to be found. Not anywhere. Yet, it moved like a living creature. My eyes began to widen as the creature wiggled out of my grip. "That was vewy uncalled for, Nagito! What's gotten into you?" the bunny demanded to me.

It.

Was.

Still.

Talking.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

I fell backwards onto the ground in horror, quickly scrambling away from the thing as I screamed with every breath I took until my back hit the bark of a palm tree. A palm tree... I’ve never seen a palm tree up close before. Well, being stopped by a literal palm tree didn’t stop me from screaming. Because THIS WAS IMPOSSIBLE! The thing-that-should-not-be frantically flew over to me with its FUCKING TINY ANGEL WINGS and waved its arms around in a frenzy. “N-Nagito! What’s gotten into you?! Calm down!”

Calm down? CALM DOWN?! THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING! THIS IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE! THIS—

My screaming was interrupted with a sharp smack across the face.  
“I’m sowwy I had to do that... But this isn’t wike you, Nagito! And it’s making me reawy wowwied!” The bunny whimpered, a fanciful wand now in its paws (probably what was used to smack me). Wait a minute... Nagito? Was this thing talking about me?

"I-I don't know anyone named Nagito..."  
The bunny creature just gave me a look that just told me that she thought I was crazy (I probably am at this point).

"But, you're Nagito Komaeda! That's who I see when I wook at you!" she replied as she pointed at me. However, she seemed more concerned than anything.

In response, I shook my head, "N-No, I'm not... My name's Ginevra Harris. And I'm either massively tripping balls or have finally gone crazy... What am I kidding? It’s probably both. I’m talking to a fucking walking, talking, magical girl stuffed bunny."

The bunny was now pretty distressed. If a living stuffed animal could hyperventilate, this thing was pretty close to doing it. "H-How did this happen?! I took care of the meanie bear a few hours ago! If you're not Nagito, then what happened to him?! What happened to YOU?!"

She began to run around in a panic, then stopped in front of me.  
"Pwease be lying! Pwease tell me that you're joking awound!" the fairy-bunny pleaded, but I just returned with a remorseful frown. That's apparently everything the bunny had to see to have confirmation... Wow, this hallucination is really detailed about its emotions.

"Well... Okay... I’m gonna bewieve you. Let me take you to his cottage. It's awmost nighttime," she said softly, taking hold of my hand, "I know that this is a weird question, but how tall are you?"

"An inch or so above five and a half feet."

"Then lemme help you out. He's much taller than you. I don't want you to twip and fall."

I stood up from my spot, keeping my eyes on the strange bunny as she took one of my hands in her paw (I would assume) and began slowly leading me away from the beach. As she had said, the height difference resulted in inaccurate steps and footing. I ended up falling quite a few times, but the falls were overshadowed by words of encouragement.

It took a while, but I finally got a good hold on walking properly, though I still had trouble with dragging my feet and sometimes tripping over them. “Alwight. Twy to avoid wunning awound until you’re used to evwyything,” the bunny explained, then gasped, “Oh! I never did intwoduce myself!”

And so, with a twirl, complete with sparkles and overall cuteness, the stuffed bunny gleefully announced, “I’m Magical Miracle Girl Usami! But, you can call me Usami!”

Magical Miracle Girl Usami.

This is what my shroom-induced mind came up with... What the absolute fuck.

After the introduction, I was finally at the door to Nagito's cottage. Or, was it my cottage? Hold up, where in the fresh fuck did these drugs take me?

Usami spun around once I looked back to her. "Alwight, tomorrow's a new day, okay Gin? Get a good night's sleep and maybe you'll be back to nowmal! Wuv wuv!"  
After that was said, and don't you even ask me how, but she was just. Gone. Completely disappeared from my view entirely.  
In a puff of sparkles.

I seriously cracked out on something and it’s probably illegal in multiple countries.

With a sigh, I dug into my pockets... Nagito's pockets? Whatever, I dug into my pockets and eventually felt something smooth and metallic. Probably exactly what I was looking for: The key to my temporary home.

Pulling the key out, I inserted it into the keyhole. With a turn, the door unlocked and I slowly opened it.  
The interior didn't look very different from any other medium-class hotel room. There were some differences, such as the bookshelf, but one thing stood out among everything. The bed. All of the panic really took a toll on my energy.

Before I knew it, I was already sprawled out on top of it. However, even though Usami, being a figment of my drugged out imagination or not, managed to soothe me quite a bit, it didn't take away the fact that I was still scared. That this was really happening.

I don't get scared easily, but right now I was honestly terrified.  
I thought I was done crying for today until I could feel my pillow getting wet followed by hearing my unfamiliar voice whimpering once again.


	2. Carpe Diem

I had trouble waking up the next morning. Mainly because the bed I was sleeping in was too comfortable for me to find the motivation to actually get up... That, and I was completely mentally exhausted. My head was completely clouded... I just couldn’t think straight... Well, it wouldn’t hurt to sleep in a bit. Besides. Work doesn’t begin until late afternoon.

I was actually feeling pretty relaxed. It was a nice change of pace from the constant anxiety I felt. Definitely a better mood than yesterday... What happened again..? I cried myself to sleep about it... Oh yeah... Something about a talking stuffed bunny and suddenly having a sex change. Damn. Dreams are weird. Especially if they’re caused by hard drugs... Wonder what led me to even take that kind of stuff in the first place...

After falling back asleep for a little bit, I woke up once again with more of a drive to actually get my ass out of bed. More sleep was what I needed to have the motivation to satisfy my stomach, which demanded sacrifice in the form of breakfast. 

Stretching, I opened my eyes and sat up from my bed with a content sigh. It took a few seconds for my vision to adjust, but when it did, a wave of terror washed over me. Wasn't this the cottage I went into when...

No. There has to be a reason for this. A logical explanation. Not the events that happened yesterday. No. Not the events that happened.

My teeth began to chatter as I brought my hands in front of me to take a good look at them. Long, thin, and as pale as can be.

Just like yesterday.

Trembling, I brought the hands straight onto my chest, feeling around. 

Flat. Nothing to be found. As the facts that I was denying so much became clear, I could feel myself begin to sweat. I was not a woman anymore. I was not me anymore. The events that transpired yesterday indeed happened. I didn't violate my promise to not take any sort of hallucinogenic drug.

I couldn't even scream. It was as if the voice that I had just gotten left me behind. I just closed my eyes and hugged one of the pillows on my bed for comfort. It'll be over soon... It'll be over soon... It'll be over soon...

"Who the fuck am I kidding," I managed to choke out pathetically into the pillow, "If I k-keep thinking that, I'll just keep disa-disa-disappointing myself..."

Great, the pillow's starting to be drenched in tears again. This is honestly getting ridiculous... In between my sobs, I could hear a light popping sound.

"Oh no! You look dweadful! Does this mean you're still not back to nowmal?!"

I knew who that was. The bunny who I thought was a figment of my imagination... Usami, I think her name was. Putting the pillow down, I brought her into my arms without warning, crying even harder. Usami was taken aback by this action, but seemed to feel sympathetic and returned the embrace. "There there... Don't wowwy... It's gonna be okay... Just get it out of your system, alwight?" Usami soothed, patting my head with her little paw. 

I was probably crying for about thirty minutes, holding Usami tightly. She didn't get irritated or anything. She was just... There for me. And having someone there for me was exactly what I needed, because this moral support was enough to slowly soothe my breakdown.  
After a few more moments, I let her go and wiped my eyes with my sleeves, to which Usami gave me what appeared to be a reassuring smile and spun around a little in response.

Suddenly, she gasped, "Oh, that's wight! You must be stawving! No matter whose body someone lives in, one thing that doesn't change is that they need to eat!" Usami said, almost in a singsong voice.

Now that she had mentioned it, I had almost forgotten that I—or Nagito—really was pretty hungry. Looking down to my (Nagito's?) stomach, I gingerly placed a hand over it. I could instantly feel the awkwardness of it all. Feeling someone else's hunger. It’s definitely something that I never expected that I'd have to deal with thinking about.

Usami seemed to understand my current train of thought and continued, "It might not be your body, but you gotta take care of it wike it is! So if his body is hungwy, follow me so you can find something yummy for his tummy!"

With that said, Usami pretty much pranced out the cottage door, beckoning me to follow. Though I was still really shaken up, the promise of food was enough to leave the safety of my cottage, So, I followed her outside, stumbling a bit due to the new height I had (I had a feeling that it wouldn't be easy getting used to it).

Once outside, I could now see just how vivid the tropical area I was residing in at the moment was. When I had woken up, the sun was most likely almost fully set considering how dark it was. To be more precise, I was at some sort of resort.

If I weren't in this situation, I would totally be okay with this.

After taking in my surroundings, I followed Usami over to some sort of hotel. It looked like some sort of reception lobby or a lounge to me, but that wasn't where Usami was directing me to. It was only when I stepped towards her that I began to smell something. Absolutely. Amazing!

"Teruteru Hanamura, the Ultimate Chef, has pwobably made some super yummy things alweady! But before you go up there, I'm gonna expwain to everyone what happened to Nagito!" Usami told me confidently, to which I simply replied with a nervous nod.

There were others? I mean, I would assume that there would be, but how many more? What were they like? Were they going to believe this impossible story? I’m probably going to be a freak to them. They probably won’t want anything to do with me. 

“Ginevwa? What’s wong?”

I was snapped out of my thoughts by Usami’s question as she was seemingly giving me a concerned look, “You had a reawy upset look on your face. Are you feewing okay?”

“I was just thinking about who the rest of the people here are. Um... Can you let me know?”

Usami went into thought. "Well, evewyone met each other yesterday, but if I told you who evewyone was, it would take a reawy long time to expwain. So, a fwesh intwoduction is exactwy what’s needed fow both you and them!" she confirmed, paws on her hips.

This is going to be hell for my social anxiety. 

In the same way as she did yesterday, Usami vanished from my view in the blink of an eye, which almost had me fall backwards in surprise. Before I was able to collect myself, yelling began to erupt from the restaurant. I wasn't exactly sure what was said, as it was pretty unintelligible to me, but the only thing that I could really even say in response was, "What the fuck..?"

Eventually, the yelling died down and it became calm. Just as suddenly as Usami disappeared, she reappeared once again when I blinked... And this time, I really did fall back on my ass. "Ow..."

"Oops! Sowwy!" she apologized, giggling a little, "Well, everything's all sorted out! Your classmates know that you're not who you look like!"  
This made me confused. “So wait... You told them who I am and everything?” I asked, which was responded with Usami fiddling around with her magic wand a bit, “I onwy expwained the pwedicament. It’s up to you to intwoduce yourself. So, whenever you’re weady, head on up there!”

To say that I was nervous was an understatement. I felt as though I was about to meet the Pope or something. Fortunately, I managed to take a few deep breaths to compose my still-fragile mind. Everything’s going to be okay... Nothing to worry about...

I clumsily walked up the stairs, still uncoordinated with the long legs I now had.


	3. Classmates of a Different League

For some reason, the trip up the stairs took longer than it should have been. It might have been because of the new length of my legs that I had yet to adapt to were struggling to go up each stair... Or my mind was trying to delay the inevitable confrontation with multiple people who I was about to meet at the same time.

I was fine with introducing myself to a few people, really. And I was comfortable with having conversations with strangers. However there’s a limit to how many I can handle. And judging by how much yelling was going on when Usami went to explain the situation, it was safe to say that there was more than I can handle.

Now a few steps away from the top of the stair, I could now make out numerous voices conversing with each other... Which made me even more hesitant to make myself known. 

“What was the chihuahua even talkin’ about?”

“I-In all of my past experiences, I’ve never heard of or treated anyone that suddenly b-b-became someone else—“

“Nobody asked what you thought about it, pig-bitch. But really, it’s way too stupid to even take seriously.”

“Yeah. If it turns out that freak was just dicking around, I’m gonna fucking kill him.”

“Still... This possibility is not to be discarded immediately. There has been a fair share of anomalies that are not quite of the ordinary.”

“The Dark Lady speaks true! For I have been relayed information of the transformation of a hell beast! A phoenix was morphed into a minotaur! A feat that even I am not capable of!”

These people... They all sounded intimidating in their own ways. But, I really had to get this over with, didn’t I..? After counting to ten in my head, I finally made my way to the top of the stairs, where I was met with fourteen—no—fifteen pairs of eyes.

But hold on.  
Were they all teenagers? I mean, judging from the cottages, I had assumed that this was a resort for families. But, there weren’t any adults to be found! Where were their parents?! Well, one of them looked like an adult that spent a whole lot of time at the gym, but other than that? No adults.

I decided to try to break the awkward silence, “U-um... Hi.”

The key word is ‘try’.

Regardless, one of the boys approached me. If I had been my regular height, he’d definitely be taller than me, but right now, I was about two inches taller. It was strange to think about, actually. His hair and eyes were the color of my real self’s, however his hair was short with the exception of a spike of hair on the top of his head.

“So, Usami said that you aren’t Nagito... Then, who are you?” he asked with a hint of skepticism as his eyes scanned me for any form of lie that I might say. Taking a deep breath, I responded.

“My name’s Ginevra Harris. I’m twenty three years old. I part—I work part time at a pizzeria and I’m hoping to be chef—a chef or baker one day. I just up—woke up and I was on a beach and not myself anymore. I’m apparently guy—this guy, Nagito Komaeda. But inside, not—I’m not. I’m not even supposed to be the gender I am right now,” I explained, mentally cursing myself for jumbling up my words, then looked towards the rest of the group, “Please believe me...”

Silence.

”You didn’t really have to tell us a whole goddamn backstory, you fuckin’ weirdo,” the (relatively cute) blonde boy in back said flatly, which caused me to wince. There goes strike one for a first impression.

Before the boy I was talking to could also respond to my introduction, a girl walked up to me and looked into my eyes. Her hair was a steely color while her irises were pink in color and... Was that a Galaga barrette? After a few awkward seconds of her gazing into my eyes sternly, she yawned and turned to the rest of the teenagers. “Yeah, this isn’t Nagito. She’s telling the truth.”

That’s when a more vibrantly pink haired person wearing a beanie spoke up, “Ch-Chiaki! How can you be so certain about that?!”

“It’s pretty easy to tell. I mean, take a look and see past outward appearances. Plus, I don’t think Nagito would be talking in such a feminine tone,” ‘Chiaki’ replied, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

I was overwhelmed with relief that at least one person believed this impossible tale (other than a walking, talking stuffed animal). Before I even knew it, I had pulled the girl in for a tight hug. “Th-thank you for believing me!” I stammered, feeling slightly better. I could feel that Chiaki had stiffened, but relaxed a little as she pet me on the head. Letting her go, I turned to the pink haired teen.  
I gotta admit, he was pretty cute. Not like I could say that now... Hold on, am I gay now? This was definitely confusing. 

Said teen seemed to slink back at my fixation on him. “H-hey, you can’t be serious... Right? You’re just kidding about being a chick on the inside... Right?” he questioned awkwardly, which I responded by shaking my head with a sigh.

“I’m not lying. B-But I’m not sure how I can really prove that I am or not,” I admitted as I glanced around once again at my audience, each face showing their own different expression of intrigue.

The shorter boy clad in a chef’s uniform came up to me after my response, a look on his face that just made me even more uncomfortable than I already was. Just him being around me somehow managed to give me a feeling akin to what felt like...

Absolute violation.

“You can prove it by telling me your bra size. Or even better—you could take those pants off right here and we can see how you react to your daikon radish, hmm? I wonder... What size could it be, exactly?”

“Wh-WHAT?!”

“Let’s consider it part of your training to be a world class chef. After all, you have to learn these kinds of things. Especially cooking with vegetables, if you catch my drift...” he purred, which caused me to back away quickly, horrified at the thought that had just been implanted into my mind.

It was at that very moment that a red headed girl smacked the chef across the face. “Teruteru! I can’t believe you’d actually SAY that to someone! ... No wait. It’s actually believable. But I can’t believe those sentences managed to come into EXISTENCE!” she scolded as the girl in the orange kimono next to her started to snicker. She called him Teruteru... Didn’t Usami say that Teruteru was the ‘Ultimate Chef’ or something like that? If he acts like this, then there’s no way I’m trusting his cooking, no matter how ‘ultimate’ it is...

I was brought out of my thoughts when I felt a large hand on my shoulder. Glancing up, I could see the muscular teenager giving me a smile. “There’s no need to be afraid to let those pants down!”

“Wh-What are y—“

“Everyone must use the bathroom! To be scared to go is a crime! SO HEAD ON TO THE BATHROOM AND TAKE OFF THOSE PANTS! TAKE ‘EM OFF AND LET MUSCLE MEMORY TAKE THE WHEEL—“  
“Eeeeuugh!!! That’s just so gross!!! Shut up already!!!”

I was glad that kimono girl managed to interrupt that guy’s speech, but the mental damage was already done. With my eyes wide, I fell backwards onto the floor and scooted away into a corner. I could just feel that my face was becoming as red as a tomato as I hugged my legs, trembling.

I honestly couldn’t take much more of this. Everyone here was crazy! Absolutely insane! Is THAT why they were here?! Was this a mental institution or something?!

A gentle hand placed itself on my back as a reassuring voice filled my ears. “Do not worry. I can imagine that this is oh so terrifying. If you ever need someone to talk to, you may talk to me.”

Looking to the one that comforted me, it was a young girl that gave off an air of royalty, yet also a feeling of kindness... Wait, her voice sounded familiar... Wasn’t this the one who was referred to as the ‘Dark Lady’? She really didn’t look like it. In fact, she almost had the same feel as a Disney princess.

The boy in the beanie, however, was giving off an air of... Jealousy? Strange. Giving the girl a small smile, I replied, “Th... Thanks...”

“H-How is everyone accepting this so easily?! We all know that Nagito has issues, right?! Sure, we’ve only known him for a little while, but there’s something not right with him!” the pink haired boy blurted out.

This caused the girl comforting me to glare at him. The amount of authority that practically flowed out of her eyes like a river... It was even more intimidating than bathroom guy. “That was not nice, Kazuichi. Apologize.”

“But Miss Sonia—,”

“No buts! Apologize now!”

In response to ‘Miss Sonia’, Kazuichi flinched, then turned back towards me. “... Sorry.”  
Well, even though it was a half-assed apology, I still felt grateful for it. Love does funny things to people, huh? Smiling to him, I got up from the ground. “Thanks...”

That’s when a rather... Busty girl spoke up. “As interestin’ as Gwen’s story is, I’m starvin’.”

“... My name’s Ginevra.”

“That’s what I said, right?”

I would be lying if I said that I cared about how people said my name. All my life, people mispronounced my name, so I got pretty used to correcting them. But in all honesty, I didn’t care as long as they were close enough. I’ve gotten Jennifer, Gineevera, Juniper, and a whole lot more. It’s gotten to the point where I actually anticipate a struggle because of how much people mess it up. But Gwen and Ginevra were two different names! Maybe she’s just bad with names in general? If that was the case, then she’s worse than me.

But she did have a point. I was hungry too. And the delicious-smelling buffet stacked on the table wasn’t exactly helping with that. 

“Well, I agree. I’m really hungry right now, so I’ll just get some stuff and be out of you guys’ way,”

With that, I grabbed a plate and approached the buffet. However, I was stopped by the boy who spoke to me first. “So, you’re just going to have breakfast then leave?” he asked, which I responded with a nod.

“Um... I-I mean, you probably don’t want me around anyway, right? Not many people here seem to like who I look like from what I can tell, so it’d just be awkward.”

“That may be true, but we’ve only known each other for a day,” Chiaki replied, tilting her head slightly, “It’s not like we knew Nagito for long. Sure, he was a weirdo from the get-go, but he didn’t do anything to make us associate him with bad things.”

I just gave her a small smile. “You really don’t have to make an effort to get to know me. This might just be temporary and it’d be a waste of time to get to know me if I’m just going to be gone later,”

That’s when the bandaged girl spoke, “B-but there’s also a possibility that you w-won’t be gone later...”  
However, as soon as I turned to her, she immediately began to cry. “I-I-I’m sorry if I upset you w-w-with that comment!!! I-I shouldn’t have said anything!!!”

The boy with the spike just crossed his arms and shook his head at me. “Not cool.”

“I-I didn’t do anything though! I just looked at her!” I stammered frantically, which caused him to laugh a little bit.

“Sorry... Nearly the same thing happened to me when I met Mikan and Nagito shamed me the same way,” he explained, “I’m Hajime Hinata.”


	4. Overwhelming Situations

Breakfast was actually more eventful than I had thought it would be. I had managed to learn everyone’s names and even was witness to that one girl who called me Gwen—I think her name was Akane?—eat five full plates of food, which was honestly pretty impressive. “So,” Hajime began with a sigh, “I guess you’re gonna be living on this island with us. At least, until you manage to get back to normal.” 

I just replied with a small nod. Everything that’s happened shouldn’t have been able to happen. It’s not possible. Where even was I? Will... I be stuck like this? These thoughts swam through my mind as I slowly prodded the food on my plate. Seeing this, the... Larger teen, Byakuya, looked me in the eye. “You’ve barely touched anything. It’s not good to waste food.”

“I just have a lot on my mind. Everything is just so surreal... And even though this stuff looks delicious, I’m not sure I trust what’s here,” I confessed, then glanced nervously at Teruteru, who gasped at my comment.

Before I knew it, he dashed to me, visibly offended, “I-I would never put anything other than the finest ingredients into my dishes! Cher, if y’think I done tampered with ma cookin’, you up ‘n don’t deserve it!”

Leaning away from the chef as he began to rant in an entirely different accent than before, I began to stammer, “I-I’m sorry for offending you! It’s just that I’m still a bit uncomfortable with the first impression you gave me!”

“That’s actually a valid reason. After that little display you gave hi—her, it’s obvious that she wouldn’t be comfortable with food prepared by you,” Mahiru added, which made Teruteru gap at her.

“I agree with big sis,” the small girl in the kimono, named Hiyoko, giggled, “There’s no way that food from a total perv would be safe!”

“Y’all too judgmental!”

With everything happening, I just couldn’t help but laugh a little at the situation unfolding in front of me. These kids definitely had colorful personalities. And having something more lighthearted to pay attention to really lifted up my spirits. I decided to cut the ‘Ultimate Chef’ some slack, “I really am sorry for offending you. Everything looks amazing. Would you mind telling me what you prepared?”

As if a switch was flipped, Teruteru’s drawl was immediately corrected. “But of course! For today, I’ve prepared a wonderful array of entrees, as you have already seen, but I’ll take the liberty of explaining the one you have chosen for yourself! Right here, we have a wonderful collection of drop scones, cooked to perfection! And I can see that you chose the berry syrup to add to the flavor. Not a bad touch, but I can assure you, you wouldn’t even need to have anything on these to make your tastebuds sing!”

... He really did make pancakes sound fancier than they were. But, I guess that’s what makes it work out in regards to having imagination run wild. After I cut a piece of one of the pancakes off with my fork, I could see that Teruteru was eagerly awaiting for me to take a bite, as if I were some kind of judge on a competitive cooking show.  
Putting the piece into my mouth, I wasn’t really expecting too much of a revelation... But that was a serious mistake. What followed was what I could only describe as a wave of culinary perfection I could only hope to achieve from pancakes. Or... Anything really!

Turning my head towards Teruteru, I exclaimed with eyes wide with surprise, “Th-This is amazing! I really didn’t think pancakes could even taste like this!”

“Well, you’re not wrong about them being pancakes, but ‘drop scones’ is also a term for them, cher...”

I didn’t really pay much attention to his comment, as I was now more interested in finishing my plate rather than getting into a debate about what to call pancakes.  
The Ultimate Chef.  
Now it made sense. This kid could go up against the world’s best chefs. If this was how something as simple as pancakes tasted in his hands, then he could make anything taste heavenly!

But wait... Why was he here? Shouldn’t he be showcasing his culinary gift somewhere? In fact, why were all these kids here anyway? Where were their parents? Was this like Neverland, where there’s no adults? Did I go straight on ‘til morning so hard that I became a Lost Boy?  
Okay, no. That’s just getting too off track. Plus, there were plenty of girls here, which would definitely cancel out the whole ‘Lost Boy’ theory. 

Before I even knew it, the plate in front of me that used to carry multiple ‘drop scones’ was empty, leaving me completely full and satisfied. For the first time during this terrible experience, I actually felt contentment. Apparently it shown on my face, because Hajime approached me with a small smile of his own. “You seem to be feeling better,” he stated, “But, there’s actually something that I’ve been thinking about.”

I looked to him, a puzzled look now spread on my face, “What is it?”

“Well, everyone here is supposed to have an ‘ultimate talent’. Something they’re really good at, you know? I guess a good example is Teruteru and his cooking,” Hajime explained, “I don’t remember my talent, so I’m about as normal as can be. However... What about you, Ginevra? Do you have anything you’re really good at? On a phenomenal level?”

Something I’m good at? “Aside from hobbies I like to do, there’s nothing that I can really claim that I’m absolutely amazing at. Nothing on the scale of how good that cooking was,” I admitted, which made Hajime go deeper into thought. Eventually, he seemed to have an epiphany.

“Maybe... Maybe because you’re Nagito, you have his talent now.”

That definitely got my attention. I might be super good at something? Like music? Seeing my sudden interest, Hajime laughed awkwardly, “Well, it’s not exactly the kind of talent you’re thinking of...”  
The confusion on my face was enough of a response for him to elaborate.

“Well... He’s the Ultimate Lucky Student.”  
...  
“He’s really lucky.”  
...

The confusion on my face became even more visible as I raised an eyebrow. “So... Um... If I’m hearing this right... If I end up with his ‘talent’, I get really lucky?”  
Hajime replied with an uncomfortable shrug, seemingly indicating him responding with ‘pretty much’. I admit, I’ve never really been that lucky. Take the previous events, for instance. But I would have at least wanted something cool. Like ninja skills or something like that. 

“... Okay then. I guess I’ll be lucky,” I repeated, then sighed. I guess that’s what I get for setting my expectations too high.

I wasn't really sure how to think about that. I mean, could that even be considered a talent? When I think talent, I think being talentED at something. People must have weird views on what talent is these days now. Taking a drink of the juice that I had taken to go with my breakfast, I decided to disregard it for now. Besides, I might not even get this 'luck' in the first place.

As I set my glass back onto the table, the yellow jumpsuit-clad teenager known as Kazuichi approached me, still radiating the same jealousy I had felt from him previously. Gritting his sharp teeth, he began, "Now, I wanna make something clear here... If I hear that you hurt Miss Sonia in any way, you're gonna have me to deal with, okay? I mean, yeah, you're saying you're a girl too... B-But I still don't want to see you try anything, got it?!"

I don't care how many times I'm probably going to say it, but he is absolutely adorable. Kazuichi's threat, however, was answered by the peculiarly dressed Gundham rather than me. "You underestimate the Dark Lady and her will, mortal. She is not easily swayed by petty things such as aggressive confrontations," Gundham stated with a hearty laugh, which made the pink-haired teen growl. Seems like the two didn't get along well.

Eventually, all of the social interaction became just too overwhelming for me. I really did want to stay and get to know everyone else, but after extended periods of having to interact with others, I need to have time to myself to recover. And so, after downing the rest of my juice, I announced to the large group of teenagers, "Well, I'm a bit overwhelmed by all of this, so I'm gonna just go to my cottage now... I really liked meeting you all."

With that, I stumbled my way down the stairs and headed outside. All of those kids were definitely something. Each one had a nice spark about them that really made them stand out and define them. People like those are people who are remembered. Sighing, I walked towards the direction of the cottages, eager to return to the relative safety inside of mine...

And that’s when it happened. 

The coordination I had with longer legs still was off. While tripping over my own feet, I managed to slip on a puddle beside the pool in front of the hotel in such a comical way that it if my life had a laugh track, then it would play for a solid minute. “AAAH—!”  
With a graceless fall, I ended up face first into the pool like some sort of disabled penguin.

After resurfacing and coughing out water, I felt around for the edge of the pool to get out, the chlorine-infused water in my eyes obscuring my vision as I cursed to myself.

Once I got out, I was shaking from the chilliness that followed. My clothes were completely drenched... Unless I wanted to catch a cold, I needed to change. Grumbling to myself, I sulked to my cottage. I wouldn’t be surprised if the others saw me do that. After all, the restaurant had windows. Closing the door to my cottage behind me, I took off my damp shoes and began to search for a closet.

After finally finding it, I opened its door to find... Multiple outfits similar to what I was wearing. Was the guy who I was supposed to be really that dedicated to his signature look? I mean, I wasn’t complaining. I personally like the outfit as a whole. Grabbing a t-shirt, pants, and boxers, I headed into the bathroom and shut the door.

... This’ll be a first.

Taking off the wet parka and shirt, I flung both into a hamper inside the bathroom. Before I could get the dry t-shirt on, my eyes fell upon a mirror above the sink. This was the first time that I could actually see my new reflection clearly... Approaching the mirror, I decided to take a closer look at myself. 

Call me narcissist, but I actually felt a little attracted to myself. Or—I was attracted to Nagito. But, I didn’t know who he was like. I only had to go off of what the pink haired boy, Kazuichi, had said about him. He had issues. But, what did he mean by that? It could mean a lot of things. Shaking my head, I pulled the shirt over myself and took a look at the pants and boxer shorts. 

...

I had to be brave about this. Shakily unbuttoning my pants and slipping them off, I noticed something very... Peculiar to say the least. Although my clothes were completely soaked, the boxers I was wearing were completely dry.

That’s just weird.

But if I was changing anyway, I might as well change out of them and put on a new pair. But, if I did, I’d have to...

“Fuck it.”

Making sure to close my eyes, I slipped off the boxer shorts I had been wearing and instantly felt around for the new ones I had set aside. Fortunately, I managed to find them and instantly put them on. 

There we go. 

No proble—aaaand they were backwards. God dammit. Groaning, I closed my eyes yet again and took them off, turn them around, and put them on again. ‘Ultimate Lucky Student’? Lucky my ass. I mean, I guess it was my fault that the boxers were backwards, but the pool situation was an event on its own. Maybe I just was having one of those days where nothing good happens. It’s been like that already. 

Putting on the new pair of pants, I decided that I was in no way showing my face to anyone after what happened. Because I’m more than positive that the whole stumbling-down-the-staircase would be humiliating enough for people to witness if they managed to not see my little pool fiasco.


	5. New Friends

Isolating myself in my room hadn’t been anything new, to be honest. I guess the only thing that really changed was the fact that I was on a tropical island... And myself... Okay, no. No thinking about it. Try not to think about it. Thinking about it just leads to more trauma. But then again, keeping this to myself wouldn’t be healthy.

As I lay on my bed staring at the cottage ceiling, I went through the interactions I had with the kids at the restaurant in my head. All of them were definitely... Unique. There were also defining features about them that seemed to indicate different trades and specialties. Well, it applied for most of them at least. Like the so-called ‘Ultimate Chef’ wearing a chef’s uniform. This caused a question to pop back up in my mind. Everyone had one of these talents, right? What was everyone’s talent exactly? I already knew one, but what were the others? And if luck really was a talent, just how lucky does someone have to be in order for it to be considered a talent in general?

All this thinking combined with this unbelievable situation will only give me a migraine.

Sitting up from my bed, I stretched a bit before my eyes wandered to the furnishings of my cottage. I never really paid much attention to what was inside due to the panic of everything, but now that I had a better look, it really was a place that I could thoroughly enjoy. There was the bookshelf that I had noticed when I had first arrived, but upon seeing the rest of my surroundings with a more level head, I could also see that there was a sofa with a coffee table adjacent to it as well as a fridge near my bed. In other words, my dream room. 

Curiosity took over me as I opened the fridge, somewhat expecting something inside... But my hunch was apparently wrong. Nothing inside was really visible, but something seemed to stand out to me. You know how when you get something new, it has that brand-new shine? Well, that’s what this thing had. Compared to everything else here, it looked like someone recently put it here. I mean, I’m not complaining. It’ll be perfect for keeping leftovers handy when I want something. But the fact that it felt as if it hadn’t even been here for a full day was just weird. 

Knock knock knock.

“Pardon me, Ginevra, but would you be so kind as to open the door?”

That voice... With gentle steps, I made my way towards the door, opening it to reveal Sonia, Chiaki, and Mahiru on the other side. With a smile, Sonia clasped her hands together, “Oh, I am ever so glad that you answered! I was worried that you were going to turn us away!”

Returning her smile with a much more pitiful one, I shook my head as I replied, “No, I wouldn’t do that. Do you want to talk to me about something?”

“Yeah, actually... We were wondering if you wanted to go to the beach with us. Since you left so suddenly, we weren’t sure what to do. So, a couple of us talked... And we thought it would be a good idea to have some time with us,” Mahiru explained, fiddling with her camera awkwardly as Chiaki followed up.

“You don’t have to wear a swimsuit or anything... I doubt you’ll want to be swimming right now, right?”

The beach, huh? Chiaki was right about me not wanting to swim for multiple reasons. One reason was due to the fact that the last time I did, there was a surplus of trash in the water, which really wasn’t a good way to be introduced to swimming in the ocean. The other reason was because of...  
Yeah. 

Finally, I gave the trio an awkward nod, looking at the wooden planks beneath us shyly as I replied, “Um... Yeah... I’d like to come, actually.”

My response was returned with a bright smile from Sonia. “I am very excited for this outing, Ginevra! I truly am! Do you require time to prepare?” she asked, “Because we can allow you to gather whatever you wish to take with you.”

“You don’t mind if I do?”

Mahiru just smiled, “Yeah. It’s fine. But try not to take too long, okay? The other girls are coming along too, so we don’t want to leave them hanging.”  
So... Along with the three here right now, I’ll be with... Um... Names names what were their names...

Oh! I’ll be with Mikan, Akane, Hiyoko, Peko, and... And Ibuki! Yeah, that’s her name. “Alright. Give me a few minutes and I’ll be ready.”

With that, I closed the door and took a look around my cottage. Honestly, I wasn’t really sure what to look for. Maybe... Maybe I should swim in the ocean? I probably won’t get another good chance to swim in the ocean for a long time. And I can’t just avoid every possible situation regarding my ‘condition’, right? I’d have to suck it up at some point. As much as I hated it, I needed to stop being so scared about changing clothes. It’s ridiculous. 

And so, I scrounged my cottage for any swimwear (and items) stashed away. Fortunately, it didn’t take too long to find a beach towel and... A boy’s swimsuit.

Was it too late to go back on my decision? I mean, I was just filled with bravado. Not like I actually MEANT any of that.

No. Get it together, Ginevra. You’re not going back on this.

Trembling, I once again went through the process of removing my pants...

Look down, Ginevra.  
Open your eyes, Ginevra.  
You can’t just continue doing this routine of closing your eyes whenever you have to do this.  
What did you say about getting used to it?  
Was that a lie, Ginevra?

No. I can do this. Slowly cracking open my eyes, I proved the prodding voice in my head wrong... At the cost of most of my remaining sanity. The more I looked, the more I felt a sensation of vertigo wash over me, which I miraculously managed to keep down as I changed into the suit. It... This wasn’t supposed to be something that I should have seen from this kind of literal point of view.  
But... I did it.  
I did it!  
I survived! I’ll have to repeat the same experience again later, but I did it!

Once I gathered up the items I managed to find, I opened the door once again to find that the three girls did, indeed, wait for me. With an awkward smile, I managed to uneasily say to them, “I, uh. Decided that I’d be swimming. I didn’t really have a good experience the last time I swam in the ocean, so I’m hoping that this time will be better. Sorry if that’s weird.”

Chiaki shook her head in response, “It’s fine. It’s actually pretty brave of you. You not letting this stop you is something I’d see from a video game.”

“I don’t know what I’d do if I had to do something like what you just did... I wouldn’t be able to last five seconds.”

“If you were to accompany me to my country, you shall be recognized as a brave warrior with an iron will and have a bronze statue created in your honor!”

I really couldn’t help but blush at these compliments. Really, they were seriously going overboard. These weren’t deserved at all... All I did was change into a swimsuit... Well, whatever. These compliments were working in terms of making me feel better. And apparently it showed, because the three girls visibly brightened up as Sonia took ahold of my hand. “Well, shall we escort you to the beach?”

I guess my surprise was quite visible, since Mahiru and Sonia giggled a bit as I was pulled away from the hotel. I vaguely remembered a few of the landmarks from being guided by Usami to the cottages, but now that I could see everything more clearly, the island that we were occupying truly was huge. 

I had assumed that we were going to the beach that I had woken up on, yet I was proved wrong as I was urged along a large suspension bridge with a kind smile.  
Wait a minute. This isn’t the only part of the island?  
After crossing the bridge, four of us were now at what appeared to be a forest or a plaza... Actually, it looks a little like a park now that I took a closer look. “Sorry. It’s a bit of a walk from the hotel. I guess we should have told you,” Mahiru admitted sheepishly with a laugh. 

I just returned with a reassuring smile as our small group began to cross a second bridge, “It’s fine. I’m really enjoying seeing the place, actually.”

After another bridge was crossed, the lot of us were now on what appeared to be an entirely different island. This one seemed a bit more centered on ‘fun in the sun’ if you catch my drift, which was perfect for what we were going to do. And... Oh! A diner! Maybe that’s a place to hang out after having a big day at the beach? It looked like one of those vintage places, actually. It might actually be fun to check out.

Finally, a distinct sparkling came into view... And I knew just what it was. Yes, we had arrived at the beach! And this one looked much more appealing than the one I was thinking of.

Once the four of us made our way down, we apparently weren’t the first ones there. The other girls seemed to have arrived first, and although Mikan frequently assured that they had only arrived a few minutes ago, I still felt at fault.  
“Ginny, you’re totally okay! Would Ibuki lie to her friends?” 

I only knew her for about thirty minutes. 

“Didn’t she just turn tail and run after, like, thirty minutes once she met us? She’s just a complete stranger. Plus, she shouldn’t even be here! She’s a guy, right?” Hiyoko jabbed at me with a giggle. Well, we were both on the same page there.

In return to the snide remarks, Mahiru placed her hands on her hips while giving Hiyoko a stern face, as a mother would a child. “That wasn’t nice, Hiyoko. Ginevra’s a girl just like all of us even if she isn’t on the outside.”

Hiyoko just pouted, “Big sis, I was just joking around... Besides, at least ‘Ginevra’ or whatever she’s called isn’t like pig shit over there.”  
With a gesture to Mikan, it was as if the dark haired girl knew she was being addressed and began to stammer

“I-I-I’m sorry for being pig barf! I won’t ever b-be pig barf again!”

“I said pig shit, pig shit.”

“I-I-I’m sorry!”

And I thought I was bad with sorries... As I quietly began setting my towel up, I noticed that mine was next to one with pixelated designs, which by the looks of of, I could probably guess whose it was.  
“Oh. You’re next to me.”  
Yep. Chiaki. After sheepishly adjusting my towel, I finally laid down onto it, soaking in the breeze.

“Everyone else is in the ocean. Since you’re already in a suit, you can join them whenever,” she informed me as I could see her sitting on her own towel from the corner of my eye. This made me have the first genuine smile in what felt like forever.

I’m not sure if it was the sun, the breeze, Chiaki, or a combination of all three, but nevertheless, I still felt a gentle buzz of comfort flow through me. Shifting to my side to face her, I replied, “Thanks for letting me know. And thanks for staying here with me. I’m usually really independent, but it can be lonely sometimes.”

“I can tell. We all were pretty worried about you since you wouldn’t come out. Hajime suggested we waited until you got hungry. Then Akane suggested that we kick open your door and drag you out. The rest of the suggestions got pretty weird after that.”

That actually surprised me. “They were worried?”

“You thought we wouldn’t be? Sure, Hiyoko, Fuyuhiko, and Gundham said that they didn’t care. And Kazuichi was still a little jealous that Sonia likes you, which kind of made him claim that he also didn’t care. But I could tell that they were still concerned regardless. Nobody here is truly a bad person, after all.”

Wow. I honestly didn’t see that coming. The first thing that really came to my mind was: ‘Oh god just what aspect of me was Teruteru worried about’. The next thing? There’s no way that people could truly care for someone this fast. That... Might be a bit hypocritical, considering the fact that I do exactly that. But for fifteen people to be worried for someone they just met? That’s too good to be true. Not possible. Besides, I doubt the guys that said that they didn’t care truly cared. After all, from what I remembered, they were all assholes to me. 

Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I sat up from my towel and proceeded to take off my t-shirt. “Well, I’m gonna go swimming. It’s definitely going to be... Weird... But, all of this is really making me feel better!”  
Chiaki returned with a nod, giving me a small smile before reaching into her backpack and pulling out what appeared to be a handheld game from it. Huh. Maybe I’ll ask what she’s playing afterwards. Once I took my pants off, I was officially ready to swim... In a hopefully clean ocean this time.


	6. The Ultimate Luck

I’ve always liked the ocean. From everything I’ve seen of it, it’s just so captivating... Well. Aside from the whole fiasco with me swimming in garbage, something about this seemed different. Unlike last time, it appeared as though that no litter was anywhere in the crystal clear water. So, at least I wouldn’t have to deal with that. 

As the waves splashed lightly against the shore, I couldn’t help but shiver a bit. Everything was going to be okay... Right? Everything wasn’t going to be absolutely terrible. There wasn’t any litter from what I could see. God, what was wrong with me?! After psyching myself up, I briskly walked into the ocean’s waves... Consequently falling into the water as a result of my unsteady pace. Great. First it was the pool, now it was the ocean. After resurfacing and shaking the water out of my (once again) wet hair, I couldn’t help but linger. At least it wasn’t too cold. So, I guess that’s an upside. 

Now that I was in... What should I do? I don’t really have any goggles or a snorkel on me at the moment, which was a bummer. But I’ve swam without anything like that and still had fun. I’m sure that I’ll be fine. After all, it was crystal clear already! I can see what’s under regardless. 

And so, I decided on gently drifting around where I was, taking in the aquatic scenery beneath me. Everything was just so amazing... So peaceful... I especially loved the sound of the waves. It was enough to put me into a trance as I became lost in my mind, which led me back to thinking about where I was.

My dad had described to me how beautiful the ocean was in Australia when I was a kid and even shared a few pictures with me. Maybe this island was around there? I’m not sure. It’s definitely big enough to be known as a tourist destination though. But despite that, only teenagers were here... This place seemed to be for people with money to spend, yet it’s only being inhabited by a small class of high schoolers... Did they win some sort of school contest for this trip or something?

Well, whatever. My train of thought was going somewhere that I wasn’t in the mood for thinking about right now. I’ll come back to it later. For now, I was going to go to more shallow water to try to find seashells. Hey, it’s a fun thing to do if you have this kind of opportunity.

... But as expected, I would be noticed. And the one that noticed me was, unfortunately, Hiyoko. Of all of the girls there, it just had to be Hiyoko. “Oh, would you look at that! What’s-her-name decided to join the girls! What a perv!” she announced with a snicker, which caused the rest of the girls to turn their attention to me. Upon seeing that Hiyoko was making another jeer at me, Mahiru frowned, “Hiyoko... You know she’s a girl like us...”  
“I know, I know... Geez, why can’t you let me joke around with her?”

It was then that Peko gazed at me, her eyes seeming to analyze me, as if she were profiling me in order to decide if I were to be trusted... Which definitely didn’t make me feel any better. Finally, she spoke, “Was it psychologically challenging to decide to join us?”

... I had no idea what she meant by that. I would have asked her to elaborate... If she weren’t so terrifying. “Um... It was a bit challenging at first,” I tried, clearly anxious about the situation. That apparently was an acceptable answer, because Peko responded with an intrigued nod, indicating her satisfaction... Maybe. She definitely was hard to read with her stoicism.

I think she continued to observe me, but I’m not too sure since seconds afterwards, Ibuki bounded over to me seemingly out of nowhere and practically tackled me back into the water. So, I guess that’s three times that I fell into a body of water in a single day. Great.

After resurfacing once again, I was met with a very energetic Ibuki. “Oh man, I TOTALLY didn’t expect for you to go for a dip with us! This whole beach party just got SO MUCH BETTER! All we need now is actual stuff for a beach party!” she chirped enthusiastically. She... Definitely was exhausting to be around. But I did like her energy. She really was someone who could lift up an entire room in five seconds. Maybe even less. But something she said stuck with me.

“I actually remember having pool parties at my grandma’s. Would anyone want to? Well. Not at a pool or anything. You know... Um... Have... A beach party... Or... Something...and...yeah...”

Oh god, that sounds completely cringe worthy. Way to suggest something stupid, Ginevra. Nobody wants to do something as sappy as that. As I looked away from the group, who now all had their attention on me, I could hear someone speak up... I think it was Akane? Yeah, Akane. “Y’know, I like the sound of that. Parties usually bust out tons of food, right? Plus, Nekomaru and I still got a beach race planned. And I’m not losin’!”

Hold on... What? Apparently, the surprise that someone liked my idea was written clearly on my face, because Akane looked at me with a confused expression. “What’s with the face? Havin’ a party would be fun. You’re the one that suggested too,” she stated flatly, which caused me to flush a bit.

“You don’t have to go along with it if you don’t want to. Really, you don’t have to.”  
“If I think something’s stupid, I say it’s stupid. Now stop being so negative or I’ll give you a drop kick you won’t forget.”  
That was definitely enough motivation to keep my protests to myself for a bit. 

“I-I agree... It would really be fun to—“  
“Nobody asked you what you thought, slut.”

Upon having her opinion shut down by Hiyoko, Mikan once again went into a flurry of ‘sorries’ as the rest of us stared. I really wanted to comfort her, but I honestly didn’t know how I would be able to console someone as prone to apologies as she was. Chances are, I would make things worse. Finally, Sonia raised her hand slightly, indicating that she wished to speak, “Pardon me, but if we are going to have a beach party, shouldn’t we ask Usami prior to preparation?”

Oh right. Usami was the ‘teacher’ or something, right? I guess it would make sense to ask her for permission beforehand. Even though we’d be asking permission from a stuffed animal looking thing in a magical girl outfit... Wow. That was weirder to actually think about than I thought. 

Pop!

“Ask me what?”

With a surprised yelp as Usami literally appeared RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, I fell—ONCE AGAIN—back into the water. I’m not even going to keep count anymore. This was just getting way too ridiculous. And so, after recovering from my graceless fall, I could see that Usami was in a flurry as she tried to make sure that I was steady once I got up (I could also make out Hiyoko snickering at my expense...). “I’m sowwy, Ginevwa! I didn’t mean to surpwise you! I’ll be caweful next time!” she exclaimed frantically, to which I just nodded my head with a light smile, showing my forgiveness.

Usami turned to the rest of us afterwards. “So, what is it?”

“Ginny suggested that we should have a TOTALLY ROCKIN’ BEACH PARTY filled with BEACH PARTY STUFF!!!” Ibuki explained for me energetically, which consequently made my cheeks heat up slightly. 

Upon seeing this, Usami couldn’t help but giggle, “Did you really? That sounds like so much fun!”

“I-I mean, I didn’t really expect anyone to go along with it... I just brought it up as a suggestion. If anything, Ibuki was the one who originally came up with it.”

However, Sonia would have none of it. “Nonsense! You very much clearly were the one to propose a party after reminiscing of your days with your grandmother! I forbid you to claim otherwise!” she commanded, causing a shiver to go down my spine. The amount of authority in her tone demanding that I stop denying my influence for this was... Really overwhelming. Too overwhelming. I felt as if I couldn’t reject her orders despite them being so needless. Was this what it meant to be an ‘Ultimate’? If so, then I was scared to know just what these kids were capable of.

What I was capable of?  
No. Just because this guy that I am right now is apparently an ‘Ultimate’, that doesn’t make me one.  
Right?

Usami’s reply snapped me out of my thoughts. “Well, it sounds wike fun! Go ahead! Just be sure to not stay up too wate!” she giggled as she waved her wand in the air.

With that, she vanished into a puff of sparkles, leaving us with the permission we needed. “Alright, let’s decide who’s going to do what to get things ready!” Mahiru announced, making her way out of the water, which resulted in the rest of us following after her. Looking over to Chiaki, who was still engrossed in her game, Mahiru called out to her, “Hey, Chiaki! Can you come over here? We need your help!”

With a blink, Chiaki looked over to the rest of us, seemingly snapped out of her trance, then proceeded to pause the game she had been playing and approach us, a sleepy look on her face. “Yeah? What’s going on?”

“We’re going to have a beach party and we need to prepare for it. Can you help us?”

Chiaki went into thought at Mahiru’s request, then nodded. “Um... I guess so. What do you need me to do?”

With all the girls seemingly now on board, Ibuki announced her contribution heartily, “Ibuki’s great at inviting people to party! Nobody’s gonna be left behind!”  
With that, she began prancing off from the beach, leaving everyone stunned... That girl could probably power New York City with her energy. 

“... Okay, I guess Ibuki’s handling that. Now we’re getting into the tasks that need two people,” Mahiru began, “We’ll need tables from the old building and more beach towels from the bathhouse. We’ll also need some snacks from the store and some firewood.”

decided to chime in first. “Big sis! Is it okay if we go get the towels together?” the small girl asked the redhead, who nodded with a gentle smile in return. This made Hiyoko cheer with excitement, hugging her ‘big sis’ happily. Huh. This scene made it seem as though Hiyoko WASN’T a completely horrible person. Oh, if only she were as cute as she was acting right now. 

After the hug, Mahiru continued, “Okay... Who’s up for helping with the tables?”

Surprisingly, it was Sonia that raised her hand to volunteer. “I wish to participate in the more exerting physical labor! I do not ever get to do such things!” she responded with a glimmer of wonder in her eyes.

At this, Akane laughed, stepping up towards Mahiru, “I’ll help with the tables too. Besides, the rest of the jobs sound borin’.”

Before Mahiru could bring up the next job, Chiaki turned to me. “Hey hey, do you want me to show you where the store is? We could go there together,” she suggested, a soft and comforting smile spreading on her face as her pink eyes locked with mine... Wow. She was absolutely mesmerizing.

I wasn’t attracted to her, don’t get me wrong. I’m as straight as a ruler. It’s just that something about her was just hypnotic. I couldn’t help but shift around awkwardly as her eyes seemed to stare into me. “I mean, if you want to...”

“I want to.”  
That’s another thing about her. She definitely isn’t vague. So, it was unanimously decided that Chiaki and I were in charge of snacks. 

Since she didn’t spend any time in the ocean, it was only me that had to dry off, but it fortunately didn’t take too long. It could have been because of the sun. Or maybe the wind. Or both. Regardless, it was a quick process to slip back into my dry clothes. Although my hair still was a bit damp, that wasn’t really much of an issue.

It also seemed that Ibuki, Sonia, and Akane didn’t bother to change into their regular clothes, which I understood. I’m pretty sure that it wouldn’t be too bad to retrieve tables from a building or invite the rest of the kids without them. As for Peko and Mikan, who were left with gathering firewood, it would probably be better for them to be in their regular clothes. Better to be safe than sorry... But seeing as Hiyoko immediately jumped onto volunteering to gather towels from the building literally a short walk away, she and Mahiru wouldn’t really need to take off their suits at all. As a bonus, it really displayed just what kind of person she was.

After both Chiaki and I were ready to go, the two of us headed off, her leading the way. Like the trip to the beach, the trek to the store was a bit of a hike as well. Fortunately for me, I wasn’t alone for this errand, as I had her to accompany me. I honestly was relieved for two reasons.

The first reason was because I didn’t know a thing about this island or where anything was. Having someone show me around was a lifesaver. The second? I needed someone to talk to. This ordeal isn’t something I can just forget about easily. If anything, I would probably break down once again. Eventually, we both arrived at the doors of a large supermarket, its name displayed brightly for all to see.

I turned to Chiaki, confused, “This place is called ‘Rocket Punch Market’?”  
“Yep.”  
“Um... Is there any reason for that?”  
“Not really. It might just be called that to be eye catching.”

Well that figures. As strange as this place might be, I doubt that I’d be punched in the face upon entering a store. But if I’m wrong... Then I’m staying far away from ‘Rocket Punch Market’ and nothing will convince me to return.  
Fortunately, I wasn’t met with a literal rocket punch after the two of us walked inside. Instead, I was met with an overwhelming supply of food items packed inside of the store, some bundled together in bulk. There were also miscellaneous items on display, such as dolls, sports equipment, surf boards... And... Holy shit, those were some big bottles of cola.

Apparently, Chiaki could see my surprise. “Yeah. This store has practically everything. It’s a good place to get some stuff together that we might need for a beach party,” she said with a nod, then walked to the aisle containing the snacks. As I followed, the sheer amount of food items that were present was absolutely insane. I mean, damn. I think there were also a couple from other countries. 

“Hey, can you get a cart or something? I’ll start choosing stuff that looks good,” Chiaki asked, to which I nodded and made my way around the supermarket, scanning the building for the requested shopping cart. Naturally, they were placed at the front of the store, yet once I had successfully procured one, something caught my eye. 

A vending machine. Hmm... If I had money, I’d probably get something from it. Well, it is what it is. Pushing the cart over to Chiaki, I gave her a warm smile, “Here you go. Hey, um, is it okay if I take a look around?”

In return, Chiaki gave me an owlish blink. “Sure. I’ll let you know when I’m done here. I can imagine why you’d be curious about this place,” she replied, then turned back to the snacks she had been looking at before. I felt relieved that she understood why I wanted to explore, honestly. This place was massive and if I wanted to know where everything was here, I needed to start exploring. 

The first thing that was going to be investigated was the vending machine. After all, I like seeing what’s in those things even if I didn’t have any change to purchase anything from them. Sauntering over to it, I began my window shopping.  
If anything, the things inside were pretty generic in terms of vending machine standards. Some drinks, candy—Hold up, when was beef jerky covered in chocolate considered a thing? I mean it must exist somewhere if it’s here, right?

Well, I’m not exactly too enthusiastic about the thought of trying it to say the least. ‘Blue Ram’, however, looked pretty interesting. It must be getting hit with a shitload of lawsuits by its counterpart, but I’d give it a try. Too bad I didn’t really have any money to actually get it.

Sighing, I was about to leave the vending machine, only to notice a slight gleam on the ground, as if it were waiting for me to turn my attention away towards my current direction. As I curiously approached the shining object, the details soon became clear as to what it was. A few small coins...

Taking each one off of the floor and inspecting them, they weren’t like any currency that I had ever seen. Were they even a legal currency? Well, since they had what looked like Usami’s face on them, I doubted it. Maybe they were tokens for an arcade around here?

Glancing back to the vending machine, an idea popped into my mind. Maybe I could try using these? My friend said that he used a game token as a quarter once. I never really believed him on that, but I guess it never hurts to try. And so, I spun back around with the coins in my hand, ready to test out my friend’s claim to fame. 

Hm.  
Maybe I shouldn’t do this.  
Would I get in trouble?  
No, I doubt anything would happen to me if these were tokens or something. Worst possible outcome would have it be dispensed back out. With that in mind, I inserted one of the gold-tinted coins into the vending machine’s slot, mainly expecting it to reject the currency.

Ca-clink!

Well how about that. Seems like these things were valid. As a weight lifted off of my shoulders, I inserted the rest of the coins and surveyed what I could afford. And wouldn’t you know it? What I had found amounted exactly to what the Blue Ram cost. Which was a little bit unnerving. Well, at least something good was happening today. Pressing the button for the drink, I heard the machine whirr to life, dispensing the requested item.

And it dispensed again.  
And again.  
And again.

“Ginevra, I’ve finished getting what we needed—“ Chiaki began as she leaned over from the aisle she was in, only to immediately stop upon seeing my panicked face as the vending machine was going crazy. Eventually, the thing stopped vending drinks, but not before what had to be forty cans were scattered everywhere around me, along with a few other goods.  
I slowly turned to Chiaki, too surprised to utter a single word. 

“... I guess you got Nagito’s luck,” she finally deducted as she took a good look around me. THIS was what it meant to have ‘ultimate luck’?! What the hell was I supposed to do with all of this?! I just wanted ONE drink. How did so many even come out of there anyway?!

It was then that realization hit me like a truck.  
This was the reason that a fridge was moved into my room.  
Nagito must have had this happen multiple times before and upon seeing that his room didn’t have one, he decided that it would be better to keep one handy for this very moment. Whoever he was, he’s definitely a smart kid...

Looking to me, Chiaki shrugged. “Well, I’ve already gotten all the snacks and drinks for the party... Do you want me to help you carry all of this to your cottage?” she offered, which I returned with a grateful nod. Well, I guess I know where all this stuff is going then. In a way, I guess I should thank Nagito. After all, I wouldn’t know where to put these if he didn’t set up a fridge in the cottage. Well. I doubt he got it there himself. But still. 

And so, after bagging everything up, Chiaki and I made our way to the hotel to drop off my plunder.


	7. A Team Effort

Thirty eight cans. 

That was the number of ‘Blue Rams’ in total that were dispensed from the vending machine.

Thirty. Eight. Fucking. Cans. 

And let’s not forget the other items that managed to make their way out as well. While the amount of them weren’t as plentiful, I had obtained three bags of the chocolatey beef jerky, two bottles of mineral water, five bags of chips, three bottles of those Japanese marble sodas, and a weird looking baguette with fish stuffed in it. Needless to say, I really was grateful that Chiaki was around to help me out with carrying all of it... But the task was made more difficult considering the fact that we also were lugging around the party snacks as well. 

As the two of us trudged on to the hotel, I turned to her with a rueful expression on my face. “I’m really sorry that you’re stuck with having to carry around my stuff as well,” I apologized, eyeing the multiple bags containing my haul. 

In response to my apology, Chiaki shook her head, “It’s fine. If it weren’t, I would have just left you over there to take all this yourself.”  
“Fair enough.”

As our short-lived conversation died out, the birds overhead took over, their songs echoing through the island’s skies while we entered the hotel’s area. Such beautiful sounds...

Just what kinds of animals were here? Were there toucans? Monkeys? Pythons? It was a big place and I really doubted that there wouldn’t be any other animals around aside from the birds. Maybe it’s something else I could ask Chiaki about... And maybe I could even deduce what part of the world I was in with information about the fauna. 

After arriving at my cottage, I set a few bags down in order to have a free hand to fish out my key. Though it took a few moments longer than it should have due to the weight of the remaining bags, it was eventually found and inserted into the keyhole, opening the door for the both of us to enter. “Huh. This is way different than my cottage,” Chiaki commented as she looked around.

I returned with a puzzled look. “How is yours different?” I questioned as I carried my drinks to the fridge, hearing Chiaki’s footsteps behind me as I opened the fridge and began placing the drinks inside.

As she situated herself next to me, she replied as she assisted with this process, “Well, my cottage has a bunch of consoles and games in it, which is pretty neat. It’s hard to really convince myself to actually go outside because there’s just so many games to play inside of there.”

“I know that feeling too well. There’s actually been a few times where I was almost late for work because I wanted to finish ‘that one part’ in a game,” I admitted with a light laugh, which made Chiaki smile as she began to fill the fridge with me. 

I was surprised at how fast the two of us had managed to finish, to be honest. Back at the pizzeria, stocking the drink fridge for customers took at least twenty or thirty minutes on a good day. The process of storing my drinks took less than half of that time... Though, it might have been because I had help with it this time around. And maybe because there wasn’t anything to rotate to the front for the first-in-first-out cycling.

Nonetheless, it only took about five or ten minutes until my fridge was successfully packed with all of the drinks (as well as the chocolate jerky stuff to avoid any melty choco-tastrophes due to the warm climate).

The chips, I decided, were going to be placed on the coffee table. After all, it would be best for them to be ‘easily accessible’ in case I wanted some. As for the fish-baguette... Well, I might be willing to give the jerky a shot since I don’t want to waste it, but there’s some things that I definitely won’t be trying. So, it was going to be a contribution to the party rather than a provision for myself. I might love baguettes, but I’m not gonna be having a single piece of this thing. 

And so, after sticking said baguette into one of the bags reserved for the party, I scooped up a few of them and gave Chiaki as much of a thumbs-up as I could manage. After she gathered up the rest and attempted mirror my confirmation, we both walked out of the cottage and went on our way to the beach (after I locked up, of course). 

“So, are you gonna let everyone know that you have Nagito’s talent?” Chiaki asked as she glanced behind me, making sure that I was keeping a steady pace with her.  
That... Was actually a pretty good question. Should I tell them? Seeing that she asked if I was going to, I assumed that she wasn’t going to. It could be because she wanted me to do it on my own, but part of me also felt like it was to respect my privacy. 

Revealing that I had Nagito’s luck would definitely answer some questions... However, if I told everyone during the party, the entire thing would just be all about me... Not to mention it would cause people to think more on my predicament than actually having a good time... But if I kept it to myself, it would be harder to figure everything out...

Finally, I had my decision.  
“I’m gonna wait until after the party. I don’t want to ruin the fun with this. Besides, if I don’t tell the rest of them, I’d imagine that it would be harder to figure out how I got here since there wouldn’t be anything solved on their side, you know?” I replied, which earned me a nod of confirmation. Judging by her expression, Chiaki seemed to have silently agreed with my choice before returning her attention to the path ahead of her. 

I didn’t really expect to run into anyone on our way over back to the beach, but I guess it was to be expected, all things considered. Because as the two of us approached the bridge to the park, we weren’t the only ones headed in that direction, seeing as Kazuichi and Nekomaru were headed the same way. “Oh! Hey there!” I greeted the two, hiding my nervousness as much as I could.

“NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN!”  
“... Hmph.”

At least Nekomaru was nicer about returning my greeting (even though it was a bit too loud for me). It appeared as if Kazuichi still hated me, judging by the unamused look he was giving me... I couldn’t help but attempt to hide in my parka at his dissatisfaction upon seeing me, concealing my dejected frown as much as I could while I futilely tried to obscure myself behind Chiaki. “Uh...um...you’re going to the beach...yeah?” I tried quietly, avoiding eye contact with the vivid pink irises.

“OF COURSE! After hearing about this, there’s NO WAY I’m missing out!” Nekomaru laughed, “Pretty sure that everyone’s gonna be there anyway, so why not be a part of that ‘everyone’, right?”  
Even though Nekomaru scared me a bit in the beginning with the whole bathroom pep talk, he managed to give off a strong vibe of a protective big brother mixed with a big teddy bear. Well, I’m definitely not gonna be cuddling him like I would a teddy bear, but he really seemed like the type that would stick up for anyone in trouble. As for Kazuichi...

“You might have suggested this whole party thing, but you still haven’t earned my trust! So don’t think we’re gonna be buddy-buddy!”

He’s smart to not immediately let his guard down around me, but it didn’t change the fact that his words were really stinging. It also didn’t help that his appearance was mildly terrifying as well.

Seeing as the four of us were headed in the same direction, it was decided that our small group would be traveling to the beach together. So, across the bridge we went, making our way to the park from before. It was only then that, through my more observant state of mind, I noticed something a bit peculiar about the bridges. 

Each bridge was numbered, with the one that we had just arrived from being labeled as ‘1’. So that’s why people could find their ways to each island so easily... So, which number were we going to if that’s the case? I remember the walk to the other bridge not being too far after arriving at the park, so it might either be ‘2’ or whatever the other number was next to us. 

It appeared as though my former guess was right in the end, because as quickly as we had arrived at the small park, my group instantly headed to bridge ‘2’. Before leaving, however, I snuck a peak at the bridge number on the other side of the first bridge.

‘5’.  
So, including this one, there’s six islands making up this resort? Or maybe some of those were locations on a bigger island? Hm. Lots of possibilities regarding these bridges and it’s not helping my curiosity. Maybe I’ll check everything out later on my own time. After all, I at least know what bridge leads to the hotel now.

The remainder of the trek to the beach was largely uneventful aside from the whole bridge revelation. I actually wanted to strike up a conversation, but the tension Kazuichi was giving off made that idea not sound like a good one in the end. Nekomaru didn’t seem to notice the uneasy atmosphere though and was just excitedly describing what kinds of things we could do at the party. He also insisted on carrying Chiaki and I’s bags over there, which seemed to pose no problem for him at all (I honestly didn’t really expect it to, given his build). 

At last, we had arrived to find Sonia and Akane in the middle of setting up the tables while the rest of the girls were preparing the firewood for a bonfire (excluding Hiyoko, who was ‘busy’ kneeling on the dirt path and happily pressing her finger on the ground repetitively for some reason...). 

Once she saw us coming down to the beach, Ibuki excitedly dropped the firewood she was holding and pranced over to us as if she were a puppy. “Welcome back! As you can see, Ibuki EXPERTLY let all the guys know! All of them agreed to come! Awesome, right?!” Ibuki chirped proudly, her hands firmly on her hips with her chest puffed out a little. 

Upon hearing that, Nekomaru mimicked Ibuki’s posture with a hearty laugh, “GREAT! I was worried that I would have to drag people over here! I know for a FACT that you can’t have a good party without your whole crew, even if it’s just one that’s missing!”

Drag people over, huh..? He and Akane have a whole lot in common, considering that she apparently suggested that I be dragged out of my own cottage earlier... Well, now that the three of us were here, I guess I could begin helping with the preparation. Maybe the others will help out t—wait. Where was Kazuichi?

“Miss Sonia! Please let me set up the table instead! Someone as gentle as you shouldn’t be forced to do this, after all!”

... Yeah, I should have seen that coming.  
But at least he was ahead of us in terms of helping.  
Kind of.


	8. Hope’s Peak

With everyone working together, setup, took much faster than I had anticipated. Sure, Kazuichi constantly insisted on assisting Sonia with even the most mundane tasks, but his help was also appreciated. In fact, by the time everyone else had arrived, we had everything practically all ready. Granted, it still took a bit for us to finish, but there’s just something about working together with others that makes time fly, you know?

It wasn’t too long before about half of the kids had made a dash for the ocean, with the exception of Byakuya (who was, for some reason, amazingly withstanding the sun in his usual garb rather than wearing his own swimsuit), Gundham, Teruteru (he appeared to be setting up a pot to cook using a portable stove), Fuyuhiko (it was surprising to see Peko with him since I believed that his shitty attitude wasn’t going to get him friends anytime soon), and Hajime.  
And I guess me as well.

“You seem calm about all of this.”

Well, seems like I’ve caught the attention of someone. Turning my head to the direction of the voice, my eyes were met with Hajime’s olive colored irises. “I’m absolutely terrified, don’t get me wrong... But I don’t want to make any of you worry. If I do, then everything will be about me. I don’t want that to happen and I don’t want to be a hassle for anyone,” I admitted as I sat down onto my towel, which caused Hajime to begin unfolding his own next to mine.

“This whole trip is already enough of a hassle,” he sighed before sitting next to me. I’m sure the blank look on my face was enough of an indication for him to elaborate, “You weren’t here for the first part of it. We were somehow transported to a deserted island while inside of our classroom without any of us having any clue how. In fact, our classroom’s walls fell backwards as if they were made of cardboard to reveal this place. I even saw a chicken turned into a cow before my very eyes at one point. And now there’s the whole dilemma revolving around you... If anything, I’m positive something else weird will happen soon enough that will only cause more panic.”

... Did I hear that right? Because I thought I just heard something about a chicken turning into a cow. Slowly turning away from Hajime, I blinked as I processed this information, then with an equally slow movement, I turned back to him, my eyebrows now raised. “H-hey, um... Say that again? I think I misheard some things,” I laughed nervously, only to have Hajime shake his head. 

“No, you didn’t. All of that happened. Ask anyone. And if you want confirmation about the chicken-to-cow transformation thing, ask Akane or Hiyoko. They were also there when it happened. Although, I think Hiyoko was a little distracted with her... Squishing... To have noticed,” he explained, visibly uneasy when mentioning the ‘squishing’... As curious as I am about what that meant, I don’t think I should ask.

Aside from that, it seemed as though Hajime had witnesses to confirm his claims. If that were the case, then something was up with this entire island. With this in mind, I decided to press for more information, “Has anything else happened?”

“Well, it wasn’t really anything as major as the crazy magic stuff, but a while after we arrived, a weird looking teddy bear arrived in the park. It kind of looked like Usami, but something about it was just... Off. It just embodied dread. Before it could really say anything, Usami began beating the crap out of it until it went away,” Hajime explained as he seemed to be recalling the scene, “I forgot what it said its name was. In fact, I don’t even remember if he had actually introduced himself in the first place.”

So, a creepy teddy bear showed up too? Well, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility for a second living stuffed animal to be around if there already was one, but if it was chased off rather than gotten rid of, did that mean that it was still here? If it was something that Usami, the sweetest little thing I’ve had the pleasure of knowing, was violently aggressive towards, then is it really okay to let it just go on its way? Was everyone going to be okay with this thing skulking around?

... No. I shouldn’t be freaking myself out. It’s something that can wait until later to think about, right? It didn’t seem like anyone was concerned about it and I didn’t want to change that at a time like this. “So, other than all of that happening, is this some sort of special field trip your class won or something?” I asked Hajime, who in return shifted uncomfortably as he took those words in.

“I mean... Maybe? The only thing wrong with that possibility is the fact that Usami told us to forget all about Hope’s Peak right after we got here. Yesterday was supposed to be the first day of school and I was assuming that we were going to get an entrance ceremony,” he explained. Hope’s Peak? Was that what their school’s called? It had a nice ring to it and it sounded welcoming enough, but everything about what was just said was strange. If yesterday was supposed to be the first day of school, why were these kids on a trip as big as this? And why were they told to forget about their new school that same day? The more I learn about this place, the more bizarre it becomes...

Sighing, I hung my head back to look at the sky, watching as white, fluffy clouds floated lazily above us. Already, the blue sky was turning a slight pinkish color, indicating the beginning of a beautiful sunset. Had time really gone by so quickly? It was true that I had isolated myself in my cottage for a while, but I didn’t expect it to have been that long. Well, I guess it wasn’t the first time that a day felt like it went by at the speed of light.

After going through the new information I was given in my head, I looked back to Hajime, who I could see had also resigned himself to staring into the sky. Now that I had a good look at him, he seemed to stand out from the rest of kids in a strange sort of way. Unlike everyone else, who had a distinct signature look to them, Hajime’s overall appearance wasn’t as vibrant at all. In fact, he looked so average that I doubt I would have even noticed him outside of this resort. I mean, I know that looks aren’t everything, but his lack of a memorable appearance compared to the rest of the kids definitely was peculiar. 

I decided to press for more information, “So, can you tell me more about Hope’s Peak? It sounds like a cool place.”

My question resulted in Hajime giving me a bewildered expression on his face. “Hold on... You don’t know about Hope’s Peak?” he asked, to which I shook my head in response. 

I guess it’s finally happened. I’m officially out of touch with the next generation. 

Seeing as I was serious, Hajime took a deep breath before filling me in, “Hope’s Peak Academy is a prestigious high school that’s been seeking out students who are widely accepted as the best in their area of expertise in order for generations. It doesn’t matter where you’re from so long as you’re the best of the best. Their goal is to cultivate talent and help Ultimates be the best they can possibly be. To top it off, graduating from Hope’s Peak gives you everything you could possibly need in order for you to succeed in life. The fact that you don’t know anything about it is really weird considering how much it’s talked about on the news and how many well known people have graduated from there...”

Hold on, what? If it’s as famous as all that, then why haven’t I heard of it? I might not watch much TV, but I’m positive that a school as renowned as this one would be mentioned online or something.

Before I could ask any further questions about it, I was interrupted by a small squeak followed by slight movement next to me from the corner of my eye. As both Hajime and I both turned our attention to the source, my eyes were met with a pair of smaller ones gazing up at me curiously.  
There, right next to me, was a white and orange hamster. So, did this mean that this island populated by hamsters too? I hadn’t seen any prior to now. Maybe it was this specific section?

“It appears as though the supernova silver fox, San-D, has taken an interest to you.”

Looking to the direction of where the new, deep voice came from, I was now facing one of the more intimidating teens here: Gundham. While he wasn’t wearing his entire supervillain garb, he still sported his long purple scarf along with a few other accessories, such as the single earring he wore.

“I do not find it out of the ordinary for one of my dark gods to be intrigued by you,” Gundham continued with a laugh, “After all, they can see that you are not who they had been introduced to prior to your curse. However! If you dare anger any of the Four Dark Devas, know that there is no redemption for you!”

“O-oh! I don’t plan on hurting any of them! I love animals,” I stammered in response, which seemed to spark a sudden form of intrigue in Gundam’s eyes. Almost as if something I said made him just as interested in me as the hamster currently nibbling on a sunflower seed was. 

After inching slightly closer, Gundham thrust his index finger to me as he demanded, “Then answer me this! To which race have you signed a contract with?!”

... Excuse me, what.   
Fortunately, Hajime was there to help translate. “Do you have any pets is what he’s asking,” he whispered to me, an amused expression slowly spreading across his face.

Okay, so now I know what ‘do you have any pets’ means in this crazy cultist lingo. I guess I should answer. “My family has two cats, but if you’re talking about a pet I take care of on my own, I have a leopard gecko that I’ve been investing my time into caring for,” I replied, which resulted in Gundham crossing his arms once again. 

“While your family has a contract with the sphinx, you yourself have chosen the dragon. An interesting demon to make a pact with...” he (I assume) repeated to himself quietly. After a few moments of silence, Gundham sprung to life once again, “I will not be so ignorant as to let my guard down around you just from that alone, fiend! While you insist that you have your own pact, your claims are merely empty words until you are proven worthy!”  
And finally, with brisk steps, Gundham walked away from the two of us, which caused the hamster next to me to follow not too far behind. Yes. The hamster followed him. Willingly. 

Seeing how confused I was, Hajime decided to explain, “Gundham’s the Ultimate Breeder. He’s apparently really good at caring for animals. That hamster that was here is one of the four that he keeps in his scarf.”

“He could have called himself the Ultimate Roleplayer and I would have believed that more.”

My comment caused Hajime to laugh a little. “Yeah. Nothing about him really hints at him being the Ultimate Breeder. To be honest, you did way better than I did when I met him. I don’t have any pets and I’ve only really taken care of a hermit crab in elementary school, so when I said that, he pretty much had no respect for me. In fact, he probably still doesn’t,” he admitted. So, I made a good first impression? It really didn’t seem like it. If that was a good first impression, I would hate to know what a bad one is like.

So, in regards to the talents, I now knew that there was Chef, Breeder, and Luck. Only thirteen more to find out... I just hope interacting one-on-one with everyone else won’t be as intense as it was with Gundham.


	9. Progenies and Peasants

It had been a while since the last time I was at a party. Actually, it’s probably been about a year give or take. However, during said parties, I would know mostly everyone in attendance. The kids that I was with right now I haven’t even known a full day. So, it was obvious that my anxiety wasn’t liking this at all. Fortunately though, it wasn’t flaring up as badly as I thought it would. I guess maybe it was because most of the teenagers were nice to me.

But there was something that kept nagging at me.  
Hajime had explained that Usami told them to forget about their new school. Does that mean everyone here was kidnapped? I think I saw an airport while Chiaki and I were on our errand. Maybe they arrived there on a plane? That wouldn’t explain the supposed instance with a classroom disassembling itself though. If Hajime and them originally were in their school’s classroom, how could it be transported to an island without anyone noticing?

And the chicken turning into a cow... Under normal circumstances, I would dismiss a claim like that as a really shitty joke. But Hajime didn’t seem like he’d joke about something as ridiculous as that. Even though he seemed to be telling the truth, I’ll still check in with Akane about it to confirm the tale. She was apparently there when it happened if I remember Hajime’s story correctly. 

Ugh. Everything was just no longer making sense.

Adjusting my position on my towel, I turned my attention towards the bonfire, lazily drawing in the sand as I gazed into its flames.  
Today marks the end of my first day stuck here. In a different body. A teenage boy’s body.  
... A boy’s body.  
The weight of everything that I was managing to hold up in a subconscious facade suddenly came crashing down as I continued to repeat that single fact inside my mind. 

This shouldn’t be happening.

Everything that’s happened shouldn’t be able to happen.

But it’s happened. 

THIS SHOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM!

A sharp pain suddenly clamped down on my finger, interrupting my sanity’s downward spiral. With a yelp, I pulled my finger away from the sand to see that I now had a small crab holding on for dear life as I raised my hand upwards. Carefully, I removed its grip and gently placed it onto the sand, watching as is skittered away from me. 

Okay, Ginevra. That was a clear sign to calm down. I shouldn’t lose it in front of everyone. Thank you, Mr. Krabs, for delaying my meltdown for a while longer by snapping me out of my thoughts.

... So now what? I wasn’t exactly sure what to do. I mean, there was definitely things to do in regards to it being a party, but I just couldn’t decide on what. Looking over to the towel Hajime set up, I could see that he had gotten up and was in the midst of leaving to go somewhere. I just couldn’t help myself from asking, “Where’re you going?”

“Well, I was going to talk with Byakuya about a few things. You can come along if you want. After all, it would be convenient to have a one-on-one introduction,” Hajime offered, which resulted in me getting up from my own towel as well with a nod.  
From what I remembered of Byakuya, he really seemed stuck up. Everything about him made me feel as if I wasn’t worthy of being in his presence, yet for some reason, I also felt... Safer? Cared for? It was really weird. What’s even weirder was that he refused to take off his regular clothes when he arrived. Was he just really self conscious about himself? 

As Hajime and I walked along the beach to where the large teen was currently gorging himself with Teruteru’s cooking, I couldn’t help but stare in astonishment at the sloppiness of how he ate.

Wow. This guy really must not want to have anything left over whatsoever. As Byakuya’s analytical eyes scanned me up and down, he set aside his plate then cleared his throat, “I can understand your awestruck expression. After all, a commoner such as yourself in the presence of one such as I is nearly unheard of.”

Well, I’ve just been called a commoner. Great.  
But what did he mean when he said ‘one such as I’? Is he important or something?  
“U-um... Can you tell me why you’re so important? I’m a bit curious,” I asked him, my obvious confusion making itself known as Byakuya’s eyebrows raised slightly in amusement.

“Are you so primitive that you don’t even know the esteemed Togami Corporation? One of the most renowned business companies in the world? It’s a household name in Japan and I, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, am the next in line to be its successor. You should be grateful that I’m allowing you the privilege to converse with me in the first place,” he stated flatly, however he didn’t seem annoyed of my ignorance. If anything, he was more curious than offended.

Ultimate Affluent Progeny, huh? If this corporation is as important as he says it is, then why haven’t I heard of it? Maybe it was because it was a Japanese company. But he was talking as if I truly should know about it... “I mean, congratulations on it being so renowned in Japan, but I’m from America. So, that might be why I’m clueless about it. Sorry.”

“I had a feeling that you weren’t from Japan. After all, your name gives it away. Plus, not knowing anything about Byakuya’s family could only lead to that conclusion... But for a foreigner, your Japanese is absolutely flawless. Especially for an American,” Hajime replied, which caused me to blush slightly. 

I was about to thank him for the compliment before I went through the sentence in my head. Japanese? What? I slowly turned to Hajime, feeling a bit uncomfortable as I replied, “Uh... I don’t speak Japanese. I can barely even understand it.”  
My response caused both boys to look at me like I was crazy.

After a few moments of silence, Byakuya took a step towards me, his arms crossed as he narrowed his eyes. “If that’s the case, then enlighten us as to how you speak it fluently without any assistance,” he ordered, his tone now more demanding than it was before.

Now his title made sense. This kid meant business and took no bullshit. He was intimidating before, but now I felt like I was being crushed underneath the pressure of his status.

I eventually managed to choke out a stammer, “U-uh... I really can’t explain why. To me, everyone here is speaking English. Th-There’s really nothing else I can say about it. Really!”  
Both Hajime and Byakuya simultaneously looked to each other, exchanging perplexed expressions as this new information was processed. 

“That’s... Definitely bizarre,” the blonde teen remarked, breaking the awkward silence, “If what you’re saying is true, then the supernatural occurrences going on are strong enough to even break the language barrier.”

I never thought that something like this would come to light by merely introducing myself to someone. So there’s a translator spell or something going around helping me understand them and vice versa? That honestly sounds cool, but it’s also impossible! I mean, it might not be in the future, but accurate real-time translations without a device of any kind? That’s not possible! 

Okay. Deep breaths. In and out. No freaking out. Not right now. Everything is okay. This wasn’t even anything bad.  
After repeating these thoughts in my head, I straightened myself up and looked to Hajime and tried a grin, “Okay then. That’s another weird thing about this place to add to the list. B-but let’s just focus on having fun for now, yeah?”

Dammit. Couldn’t hide the wavering in my voice. And it seemed like it was more noticeable than I wanted it to be since Hajime was now giving me a concerned look.  
As for Byakuya?  
He seemed like he could care less about how on edge I was now. Which I guess was a good thing at a time like this.

However, even though I wanted to continue to get to know Byakuya and his company, I just really wanted some time to process this information. Every word I speak and have previously spoken was in Japanese for everyone else... That’s definitely something new. 

And so, I retreated to my beach towel to relax and watch the fire.

Maybe Chiaki brought marshmallows. I haven’t roasted one over an actual campfire in quite a while, to be honest. Or maybe I could—  
Wait. Was that a piece of paper resting on top of my blanket?

Now, normally, I’d just set something like that to the side or throw it away. But as I took a closer look, I could see that something was written on it. With my curiosity getting the best of me, I plucked the paper off of my towel and began to read the message written on it.

‘Jenevera.  
I’m gonna wait in your cottage.  
We gotta talk about a few things. ALONE.’

... ‘Jenevera’.  
Well, I wasn’t really expecting anything less from a letter apparently addressed to me. It wasn’t really the first time. But what was really bugging me was that from what I could see, all the kids were here. So if what this letter said was true, then someone other than the teens was currently inside of my cottage. Waiting for me.

Maybe it was Usami? She wasn’t around here and it would make sense if she wanted to talk with me privately... Or maybe I was just being played a trick on by one of the kids. Hmm. 

Know what? I’ll go.


	10. Hope’s Peak’s Headmaster

To be honest, I stuck around for a little bit more before I made my way back to my cottage. I didn’t want to leave early just because of some cryptic message I had gotten, after all. Turns out, Chiaki did indeed bring marshmallows, so even if I was going to leave after reading the letter, I’d be distracted by that anyway. And fortunately, I retained my marshmallow-roasting skills upon arriving. Guess there’s some things that aren’t easily lost when you get trapped in another body. 

I was going to leave after that, I swear. But the cooking that was prepared smelled so good... And I didn’t want to be rude or anything by passing it up. So yeah. I stayed for a bit longer than planned.  
In my defense, the stew was amazing and it didn’t deserve to be ignored. 

... Okay. I admit it. I lost track of time. But that’s what happens when you have fun, right? The thing that reminded me of the note was a sudden automated ringing sound echoing through the island followed by the small monitors hanging up around the beach flickering on to show Usami in a rather cartoonish room sitting on an exaggerated loveseat. 

“Everyone! It’s nighttime! Please start wrapping things up over there so you can and get plenty of rest to do your very best tomorrow! Night night...”

Do our very best tomorrow? With what? Well, it’s something to find out later. Tossing the stick I used to roast marshmallows into the now-diminishing fire, I gathered up the belongings that I had taken and turned to the group of teens. “Well, I’m gonna head to bed. Today’s been a long day and I’m really tired. Does anyone want me to carry something back on my way there?” I asked, which was returned with Hajime shaking his head. 

“No, it’s fine. You and the girls helped bring stuff over here. It’s only fair if we split the work equally. See you tomorrow. Well... If you’re still here, I guess,” he replied with a small smile. Kazuichi, however, seemed to pout after that was said.

Probably because he considered him and Nekomaru helping carry the food and setting things up as his share of the work. Then again, I don’t really blame him. I would have felt the same way if I were his age.

Well uh.  
Mentally.  
Whatever whatever. Right now, what matters was getting back to my cottage and seeing who wrote the note. Taking one last glimpse at the letter before pocketing it, I sighed. Whoever this guy was really wanted to drive home the whole “mysterious vibe” of this whole thing by not leaving a signature. If it was intended, then they definitely watched too many movies or something. 

Nobody really accompanied back to island number one, but I didn’t mind. I could tell that the majority of them wanted to keep the fun going for just a little bit longer regardless of Usami’s announcement. They were kids, after all. 

As my hike came to a close once I stood in front of my cottage’s door, I couldn’t help but hesitate. What was going to happen? Who was waiting for me?  
With a deep breath, I slowly opened the door and peered inside... And what I was met with took me by surprise. 

My once-clean room was completely trashed. Wrappers and cans were everywhere, chips were all over my now-unmade bed, and the fridge door was wide open to reveal that a large chunk of the snack items that I had obtained were gone.

Someone ransacked my fucking cottage.  
Before I could successfully get enraged, a shrill voice greeted me from beside my bed, “So, you FINALLY decided to show up, huh? Geez, for someone who cares too much for others, you really left me hangin’.”

It was then that I witnessed Usami peer out my bedside. Or—at least I thought it was Usami. When it became fully visible, it was obvious that this was a different stuffed animal. In fact, it was a bear rather than a bunny.  
At first, it was pretty cute with its beady eyes resembling Usami’s. However, when the right side of it was revealed, there was a stark contrast to the first half I was introduced to.  
Parallel to the white side, the stuffed animal was pitch black with a sharp-toothed smirk and a red glowing eye. It honestly looked as if someone took two stuffed animals, cut them in half, and attached two different sides together with one being your basic cute polar bear plushie the while the other one looked like it was made by Jack Skellington to give kids for Christmas. 

Seeing stuffed animals moving on their own still wasn’t something I was used to nor would I ever be, but I had to just try to accept this as reality. “U-uh... Hi. Do you work for Usami or something?” I asked, which seemed to irritate the teddy bear as it was now storming up to me. 

Pointing its black paw at me, it spat out a reply, “No way! I’m my own boss and I don’t need to ask that glorified Easter bunny permission for anything!”

“S-sorry! You just look like the same kind of stuffed animal as her and-and I assumed—“

“And I’m NOT a stuffed animal!”

Pressing its paw onto its chest, its red eye glinted as it continued. “I am Monokuma! Headmaster of Hope’s Peak! And I’m SUPPOSED to be makin’ this boring-as-hell trip exciting! I was even gonna make Usami my adoptive little sister and be the best most lovable big brother she could ever ask for! Well, the only big brother that she would have no choice but to submit to, but still!” the bear, now known as Monokuma ranted as I stood there in stunned silence. 

Was this the bear or whatever that Hajime told me about? He really wasn’t wrong when he said that there was something ominous about it. And I’m guessing that I should refer to this thing as ‘him’ rather than ‘it’? I mean, it would only be fair, right?

Upon noticing my lack of a response, Monokuma crossed his short little arms with a hum. “Seems like the memory wipe got to you, too. I was expecting a ‘oh wow, I can’t believe I’m meeting Monokuma’ or something from you, but you look like you don’t even recognize me, huh?” he sighed, which caused me to blink. Did I know him from before? How?

“You’re probably wondering how you would know someone as handsome and charming as I am, huh?” Monokuma asked with a laugh. Wow. Hit the nail on the head. In response, I gave him a sheepish nod.

“Well, you didn’t know me for real. You knew me from watching everything I did spanning numerous years! You’re even more of a stalker than Souda!”

I could only ask one significantly intellectual question as a reply.  
“... Huh?”

Once again, Monokuma laughed, “Yep, you don’t remember a thing about the wonderful things I did! Man, you were OBSESSED with it! You want me to tell ya? Spoiler alert: It’s brutal!”  
The more this thing talked, the more disturbed I became. He (partly) knew my name and he mentioned something about my memories being wiped... I guess I should hear him out. But something about him just felt absolutely wrong... Finally, I nodded and walked over to the sofa, dusting the chip crumbs off of it before sitting down. 

“I’m guessing that’s a sign that you wanna know!” Monokuma chirped before plopping down onto the floor in front of me, “You were obsessed with watching teenagers kill each other! Then watching me execute them in an even worse way! It makes me proud to see that I had accumulated such a devoted fanbase that’s able to hook even someone as gentle as you!”

“Wh-wha... Wha... Wh—“

“Don’t interrupt! I haven’t gotten to the good part yet! Man, you would watch the deaths over and over. If I recall correctly, your favorite was one I did! The Thousand Blows! Definitely a classic. You got good taste. It really kicked everything off! Woulda really given me a boner if I had the parts for one!” he cackled as my eyes were wide with horror. Seeing my terror, he took that as a cue to keep going, “And you also liked one that woulda happened here! Chiaki Nanami’s execution... For killing YOU! Or. For killing Nagito Komaeda. But what’s the difference now? Well, I had lotsa fun with that one! Then there was one years and years from now that hasn’t even happened yet! Crazy, huh? For a student you had a teensy crush on for a little bit even, you sadistic yandere, you! I originally planned something similar to it for Souda, but—“

“STOP IT!!!”

I was now seething with anger. There’s no way I would actually watch that stuff.  
He’s lying.  
He has to be.  
I would never watch someone die for entertainment.  
... Right?  
No! Stop doubting yourself, Ginevra! This teddy bear just wants to mess with your head!

But Monokuma just shrugged. “You’re really not all that appreciative of what I did for you. I mean, I made your dream come true!” he said with a sigh as he got up from the floor. 

I don’t raise my voice much, but this was an exception, “What do you mean when you say that?!”

“You desperately wanted to come here and be buddy-buddy with everyone. As I recall, you also said something along the lines of: ‘Ooooh, I don’t want to be me anymore~! I want to be Nagito instead~! I wanna be friends with everyone as him~! I would be able to die happy~!’” Monokuma mocked in what I guess he assumed was a girly voice, “So, I granted your wish! It was actually the perfect way of going about screwing with the trip while also getting rid of that guy. Seriously, he got off to hope more than I do with despair and it was ab-so-lute-ly annoying!”

What... What the fuck? What was going on? Why was this happening? Is what he’s saying true. Glaring, I decided to interrogate, “If that’s actually true, then how did you do it? How were you be able to bring me over here?”

It seemed like that was the right question to ask, as Monokuma’s grin grew wider. He then began to now climb onto the coffee table, replying as he snatched up one of the remaining bags of chips and opened it, “Well, you and everyone else were convinced that this wasn’t real. Where you’re from, this reality is a game everyone around the world could play. But believe me when I say that I was watching each and every one of you while you all played.”

Crunch. 

“When I heard you say all of that to yourself, an idea hit me. In this particular area, I’m much more powerful! It was the perfect opportunity to get rid of that hope-obsessed freak, Nagito, and replace him with someone who knew everything! It woulda triggered one hell of a butterfly effect! But unfortunately, the memory wipe ranged much deeper than I had originally thought. It erased all of your knowledge about my games! And even worse, Usami BEAT me! Now everything is going to be all lame and happy-go-lucky and I’m about as magically powerful as some delusional magician who thinks her magic tricks are real! And with you going around WITHOUT your outside knowledge, me dragging you in was pointless!”

Crunch crunch. 

“I mean, it’s hilarious to see you freak out over everything, but that’s not what I was aiming for. I wanted to see you try to futilely prevent the deaths that WOULD have happened! Unfortunately, I have nothing in my arsenal to restore your memories. And I can’t make the Killing School Trip happen because of that goody-two-shoes. What a major letdown.”

Crunch. 

“I guess I’ll just watch you be scared of your own shadow for a while until I think of something. Thinking my master plans up doesn’t take overnight. Motives, sure, but plans for the long haul? Nah, that’s not as easy.”

Crunch. 

“Aw. I’m all out of chips. Should’ve known that even in this place that chip bags are still mainly filled with air... I guess I should have seen it coming. After all, it was YOUR luck that caused it to get in your possession.”

All of this information was just too much for me to handle. How could someone say that my memory was wiped so casually?! Much less describe killing people so nonchalantly! Thrusting a finger to the door, I gave Monokuma as much of a glare as I could muster, my only words being,

“Get out.”

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Nagito this pissed off—“

“G-GET OUT!!!”

Fortunately, that was enough for Monokuma to just shrug, drop the now empty chip bag, and saunter to the door. After reaching up and opening it, he glanced over his shoulder to me, his red eye seeming to shine as his malicious grin grew bigger.  
Waving, he called with an overly cheerful singsong voice, “Thanks for the food, Harris! I’ll be sure to visit you again once I revise my plans!”

And with that, he was gone.

Instantly, I dashed to the door and locked it, pressing my back against it as my mind went back and forth to each thing he had said. Was I really obsessed with something as twisted as what he described?! He has to be lying! Has to be!

I’m usually great at detecting lies, but I just couldn’t pinpoint whether or not this demented teddy bear was telling the truth. It might be because he wasn’t human. But, there was something about how he described the events that made it seem as if he was genuinely telling the truth. He also knew who I was, but that could have been because he eavesdropped on my introduction and conversations with everyone. 

Yeah.  
He’s just a bully that wanted to break me.  
Well, joke’s on him because I’ve already been broken by bullying back in middle school.

Releasing a breath that I didn’t know that I had been holding, I surveyed my now-trashed room. I’d have to clean everything up... Great.  
Well, it’s not like I was tired anymore. That whole event got me wide awake. 

I began to gather the wrappers.


	11. Telling Half of the Truth

I had expectations for what would happen when I woke up the next day. When I would wake up, I would realize that I was in my actual bed rather than the one in the cottage, laugh a little at how vivid the dream about becoming a teenage boy and meeting talking stuffed animals was, then go about my business. I would feed my gecko and coo at his cuteness before casually walking into the kitchen to make myself breakfast. Afterwards, I’d just play it by ear. Probably spend hours on end watching videos or something. Maybe tend my mint patch and harvest some leaves. Or maybe even go to the grocery store to pick up something. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to do this predetermined routine. I woke up in the same bed as before, only with a slight headache. To be honest, part of me knew before I went to sleep the night prior that I wouldn’t suddenly be back to normal. Everything just felt too real. I guess another part of me was hoping for otherwise regardless of the undeniable facts. 

With a yawn, I willed myself to get out of bed so that I could get ready to head over to the hotel’s restaurant (which took longer than it should have). As much as I wanted to sleep in to get rid of the headache, I didn’t want to make any of the kids worry about me. Plus, I didn’t want to ruin Nagito’s sleep schedule. 

As I trudged up the stairs to the restaurant, I was apparently not as late as I was yesterday, seeing as half of the kids weren’t there yet. Among the small group that had arrived before me were Chiaki and Hajime, who seemed to be enjoying a conversation between each other.   
Hm.  
Should I interrupt? They seemed to be having a nice enough conversation on their own. Then again, I felt like the instance regarding Mono-something definitely should be shared.

... But then comes the dilemma of just how much of it should I tell. The thing said that this place is a game in ‘my world’ or whatever. Would that make everyone here fictional? If I told them that they weren’t real, would they believe me? Would they think I’m crazy?  
Wait. Why am I choosing to believe the psycho-bear that trashed my cottage in the first place? Everything he said sounded made up and he gave me a vibe that screamed ‘untrustworthy’. Hell, he might have rehearsed the entire reveal while waiting for me. 

I apparently took too long with my decision on what to do however, because I had now attracted the attention of both teenagers, who cautiously began to approach me. As soon as they were in front of me, Chiaki wasted no time getting to the point. “Are you Ginevra or Nagito?” she asked, her sharp eyes seemingly gazing into my soul. 

The question should have been anticipated, however the complete suddenness of it still took me aback, “It—it’s still me. You know. Uh. Ginevra.”

My response caused Chiaki to nod, then smile slightly as she took my hand. “Since you’re here, you can sit with us if you want. And maybe you can stick around this time and play some games?”  
I guess it would make sense for someone with a Galaga barrette to be interested in gaming. In fact, if I remember correctly, Chiaki mentioned that her own cottage was stuffed with them. It shouldn’t be too surprising for her to have some with her, right?

Finally, I gave her a small smile as I responded, “Sure. I’d like that, actually.”  
I guess this answer also meant that I would sit with her and Hajime for breakfast right that second, because as soon as I replied, Chiaki took ahold of my hand band began to lead me to a nearby table. As I took an empty seat across from the two kids, I cleared my throat. 

“Well, there’s been a bit of a development about my situation. This weird teddy bear was at my cottage last night and—“  
As soon as I mentioned the teddy bear, both Hajime and Chiaki seemed to hesitate, as if recalling experiences of their own.

With a firm expression now spread on his face, Hajime looked me dead in the eye as he inquired, “What did he say? Did he try to pull anything?”  
The sudden seriousness caused me to shudder slightly, my anxiety now deciding to fill into my chest. In an attempt to compose myself, I took a deep breath and adjusted my seat. After piecing together my thoughts on how to explain, I replied uneasily.

“The bear, uh... He introduced himself as the school’s ‘headmaster’ and told me that Usami ruined his plans for having everyone killing each other. He had actually been waiting for me to return to my cabin last night during the party, but according to him, I took too long. He pretty much trashed the entire place and raided my fridge,” I explained as I fiddled around with my parka’s zipper, “Then, he said that he was the one that brought me here while claiming that I WANTED this whole situation to happen to me.”

Chiaki nodded her head slightly as I finished my summary of the encounter, then hummed as she took the information in, “Is that all he told you? That his plans were thwarted and that he was the reason for you being here? If there’s anything else that thing might have said, don’t be afraid to share it. We need all the information possible if you want us to help you get back to normal.”

Chiaki didn’t even have to say that she knew that I was leaving something out. The questions she had just asked were a definite giveaway. Though, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, seeing as this girl is grouped together with prodigies. But that’s the problem... I can’t just say that Mono-something told me that everyone here wasn’t real and instead were part of a game. If by the crazy instance the teddy bear was telling the truth, this knowledge shouldn’t be shared with people who are a part of this so-called game. I guess that was his plan now that I really thought about it—setting up this difficult decision in order to cause unease between these kids and I.  
Finally, I made my choice.

“He mentioned this not being real or something. That where I’m from, this place isn’t real.”

My half-truth caused Hajime to give a confused look in response. After a few moments of awkward silence (which felt like an eternity), he finally spoke up, though he seemed a little unconvinced of this claim, “That... That doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. Everything that’s happened here is bizarre, sure, but it’s still real...”

“I agree. There’s a fine line between games and reality. Even though everything that’s happened here should be impossible, the fact of the matter is that we know that this is truly reality, right?” Chiaki added, the previous suspicions she had seemingly gone and replaced with her usual analytical gaze. I guess the technical truth was enough for her to be satisfied, however I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be for long. Spooky. 

Finally, she gave me a gentle smile. “Don’t worry. If he comes back, let us know and we’ll do our best to help you. After all, you’re our friend now, right?” Chiaki assured, her voice soothing me as she put a hand on my arm for comfort. Although she could be stern and serious, this girl really was amazing when it came to reassuring me... If anything, she could be a perfect therapist if she wanted to be. 

With a smile, I replied to her, “Right. But, let’s not let this development ruin the mood for today, yeah? Thinking about it constantly will take the fun out of gaming together.”

This caused Hajime to grin, silently agreeing as Chiaki reached into her cute cat-shaped bag, pulling out a small handheld system and handing it to me. “Hey hey, since breakfast isn’t ready yet and we need something to get our minds off of this, do you want to play one of my games?” she offered, “I have this one party game on here that the three of us can play by passing it around.”

This time, there was no hesitation with my answer.  
I took the system in my hands.


	12. A Reveal of Talent

The party game that Chiaki had brought with her resembled a bootleg Mario Party if I wanted to describe it. Same overall mechanics involving a playing board and mini games, yet the entire thing was comprised of characters that I didn’t know. I mean, literally none of them were familiar whatsoever. Were they popular in Japan or something? Who knows.

Well, I ended up going first after rolling a ‘6’ on the game-dice, then landed on a space instantly afterwards that gave me a special item. After the third turn of this stupidly good luck, Hajime turned towards me, unamused. “You know, I get the feeling that Nagito’s luck stayed with his body. There’s no way that this should even be possible.” he stated flatly, which caused Chiaki and I to look to each other, then back to him. 

“Y-yeah... Actually, Chiaki and I found out about it yesterday while going to get supplies for the party. I didn’t really want to say anything then because I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s time,” I admitted as I handed the small console to Chiaki, now finished with my turn, “I was going to let everyone know once they all got here.”

In return, Hajime sighed, then nodded, seemingly understanding my intention as he watched Chiaki play her turn. Before she could hand the console over to him, however, a wonderful smell filled the restaurant, indicating that Teruteru had finished making breakfast. As the three of us looked up, we could see that the rest of the kids were already sitting in their own seats.

Time really does fly when you play a game, huh?  
Upon seeing that our meal was now ready, Chiaki turned the handheld console to a form of ‘sleep mode’ and slipped it into her backpack. “We can continue the game after we have breakfast,” she decided, then made her way towards the buffet table. 

I was about to follow her over there, but a tap on my shoulder caused my attention to drift towards my left.  
“Pardon me, but are you still different on the inside?”  
Ah, yes. Sonia. The one with the easiest name to remember for me. With a nervous smile, I gave her a nod to confirm her question. This resulted in the elegant girl’s face to be filled with genuine concern. “So a full day has not returned you to your normal state...”

This solemn expression quickly changed as Sonia was now grasping my hand in her own with a sudden spark of excitement. “I suppose that you get to spend more time with us then, Ginevra! Let us not see this as a tragedy, but rather a comedy!”

... Exactly what was she meaning by that? Nothing about this is really comedic to say the least...  
Whatever whatever. I decided to hide my confusion the best I could and reply, “Y-yeah. I actually am pretty glad that I get to spend more time with you guys too. Plus, if I left without saying goodbye, I’d never be able to get over it, you know?”

“I agree fully. It would make me feel so very terrible to not have properly bid you farewell if you were to have gone in the span of last night,” Sonia sighed as she fiddled around with the fabric of her dress. Even compared to everyone else, she seemed to be dressed rather differently than the other girls. And the way she spoke clearly wasn’t the norm. Was she in a higher class or something? She also mentioned something about her ‘country’... Was she a foreigner? 

I decided to ask, “I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but what’s this country you say you’re from?”

My question caused her to gasp, seemingly surprised by this. “Oh, have I not told you? I am terribly sorry! I am from a smaller nation in Europe that is known as Novoselic. I transferred to Hope’s Peak Academy as an exchange student,” Sonia explained.

Novoselic... That’s definitely not a country I’ve heard of before. But then again, there’s all sorts of countries out there in Europe. Her continent of origin also explains her name as well, I guess. If she’s from a European country and speaking what is apparently Japanese right now, does that mean she’s bilingual? Is she the Ultimate Rosetta Stone or something? Before I could ask, Sonia giggled a little bit, “I can tell that you wish to know why I was accepted into such a school. That is because I am the Ultimate Princess... However, please do not let such a thing dictate your behavior around me. I much prefer not to be treated as a princess while experiencing my school life, as strange as it is turning out to be.”

Wow. Okay. That definitely explains everything. I could also imagine why she would want to be treated normally. Her being a princess must mean that a regular childhood was out of the question.

I guess it makes sense given royal expectations.   
Royalty is royalty.  
Like the Queen of England.  
... I’ve been acting like a total dumbass in front of literal royalty.  
God DAMMIT.   
No, Ginevra. Just. Calm down. This is exactly what she DOESN’T want me to do. I was already treating her like how she wanted to be treated. Here, there is no royal status. She’s just like anyone else.  
Only she probably owns a clone of an extinct animal or something. 

Shaking those thoughts out of my head, I did my best to flash her a friendly smile while giving her a thumbs up (all to hide my nervousness). “In the end, everyone is the same, yeah? So, I’ll be sure to treat you the same as everyone else!” I assured, which made Sonia’s eyes appear to twinkle a bit in gratitude.

“Thank you very much! I truly do appreciate your contribution to giving me the perfect high school experience!”

With that, Sonia walked over to the buffet table, now having more of a spring in her step. It really was a shocker to find out her royal lineage, I’ll admit, but she just seems so comfortable with being around almost everyone. Well uh. Everyone except for Kazuichi. Poor guy just was too lovestruck to know when to cut it out. Still cute, but I could see how annoying it was for Sonia now. His tactics definitely were what she DIDN’T want. 

As cruel as it sounds, I’ll probably use him as a reference for how not to talk to her now that I know. It’ll definitely be hard to forget about her title, but it should be possible. 

... Speaking of forgetting, I nearly forgot that I needed to let everyone know my own ‘talent’.  
Clearing my throat, I made sure to project my voice throughout the restaurant, “Um. I have an announcement to make.”  
All eyes were on me. I hadn’t thought through what I should say. Why didn’t I? Ffffffffuck. 

“Well, uh, while Chiaki an-and I were gathering stuff for the party last night, we discovered that I h-have Nagito’s talent. I’m lucky. So um. There’s that reveal. Yeah.”

An awkward silence blew through the restaurant as these words were processed by everyone else. Finally, Fuyuhiko scowled, “And why did you wait to tell us this shit? Anything else you’re keeping from us?”

Yes. The fact that a teddy bear is claiming that this is just a game that I was obsessed with.   
“No! I just didn’t want to ruin the fun for everyone! I figured that it would be better to tell everyone when nothing was going on, you know?” I argued, but this defense just caused the little shit to roll his eyes and turn away.

“I still don’t trust you on this, asshole. The shit you’ve been spewing sounds like some stupid anime,” he growled. Well fuck you, Fuyuhiko. 

Surprisingly, it was Mikan to speak up after Fuyuhiko, “It-it might actually be useful information though... W-we know that this sw-this switch doesn’t include talents. So far, we know it-it’s only the mind that gets swapped.”  
That was true enough. It might not be much information to go off of, but it’s still something. And props to Mikan for not being too scared to share her opinion. After a few more seconds, Mahiru broke the silence. 

“Well, how about we think more about this sometime later after breakfast. Maybe around noon or so?” the red head suggested, which was returned with a unanimous agreement as we all gathered our food.   
——

After having breakfast, Hajime, Chiaki, and I made our way down to the lobby below the restaurant in order to finish our game. We had some time before everyone went to discuss everything, so why not? It would ease some anxiety about it as an added bonus.

In the end, it was Chiaki who won the party game. Though, to be honest, it was pretty close between her and I. It’s pretty obvious it wasn’t my own skills making it possible though. I mean, after managing to land on the best beneficial spaces five times in a row, it became pretty obvious that it was only thanks to Nagito’s luck that I was managing to keep up with her skills. Sometime in the middle, however, the good luck turned bad. I didn’t end up in last place, but the fall from grace was absolutely monumental. 

As for Hajime... He was the one in dead last. No offense to him, but even if I didn’t have this luck, I’d probably still end up in second place. Seeing how terrible he was at the mini games was a dead giveaway that gaming really wasn’t his strong point. Guess that crosses out one possibility of what his talent could be.

“I had a lot of fun. I really hope we can play again,” Chiaki said happily as she stowed the console into the backpack, “But now, I’m kinda sleepy... I’m gonna go to my cottage for nap, okay? Don’t worry, I’ll be there for the meet up.”

After Hajime and I watched Chiaki slowly head out of the hotel to her cabin, I glanced over to him in confusion as I asked, “Is she always so drowsy?”

He laughed a little at my question, “Yeah, actually. I get the feeling she stays up a bit too late playing games. Though I guess it’s fitting. If gaming was what you got in this school for, you’d have to do it all the time, you know?”  
I see. So everyone here devotes themselves to their own talents. It would definitely be a bummer if your talent was one you didn’t like at all, but everyone seems to be fine with theirs from what I could tell. At least, from what I could tell from the ones I was told. 

“So, Ginevra,”  
Hajime’s voice snapped me back into reality.  
“What do you think the bear meant when he told you that none of this is real anyway?” he asked, his eyes dripping with curiosity about the subject.

I couldn’t think of anything else to do but shrug as I replied, “I have no idea. The only reason I can think of is to try and cause some sort of discord. That thing is absolutely bad news. I can feel it.”  
Hajime took my reply and nodded, then began to stare off into space. 

What would be discussed at the meeting? Should I tell everyone exactly what the teddy bear said? Something about that choice really nagged at me. As if that option shouldn’t be done period. That there’s more to it than disrupting order. That nothing good would come from it and everything would crumble.

Why, exactly?


	13. “It”

Since the restaurant was the unanimous gathering area for the class, the meeting was held there a few hours later. To be honest, I expected Chiaki to be at least a few minutes late due to her nap, but the girl was right on time. The late one was Nekomaru, surprisingly. Apparently, he was caught up in the bathroom... Well, he actually went into much more detail about the go than just that, but I don’t really want to elaborate on it.

Once everyone was accounted for, Byakuya took it upon himself to begin, “Now. I’m sure we all know why we’ve agreed to meet up like this. We need to go over the facts about just what’s going on.”  
He then looked towards me, giving me a cold stare as he pointed towards me. “So far, we know that Nagito’s talent has remained with the body. We also know that the current occupant doesn’t know a single word of Japanese, yet somehow is able to speak and understand it fluently. Before I make my deduction, are there any other notable pieces of information that should be shared?”

As the entire room turned their attention to me, I hummed as I thought through the previous day. “If I had to say, recently I’ve noticed that louder sounds are suddenly more excruciating than before. I never did like loud noises back when I was myself, but lately it’s been more unbearable,” I explained, which caused Byakuya to cross his arms in silent thought. 

“If I remember correctly, Nagito listed one of his least favorite things as ‘loud noises’. So, this could point in the direction that most of his preferences have remained as well.”

“Whaddya mean by that?” Akane asked, the puzzled expression on her face growing. Fortunately, Byakuya wasn’t too irritated by this and simply sighed.

“What I mean is that his body might have grown accustomed to certain things, such as the sudden irritation towards anything remotely loud. If this is the case, it’s very possible that Ginevra might also prefer different foods as well thanks to her new body having preferences for different things. It doesn’t necessarily mean that she herself likes them, but rather Nagito,” Byakuya explained, however he appeared to be annoyed that he had to go into more detail than he wanted.

Wait a minute.   
If this also affected my taste in foods, then would I be able to... Raising my hand slightly, I cleared my throat, “Um... I think I know how to decide if that’s true.”  
“Oh?”  
“Yeah. It’s really stupid, but I normally can’t stomach fish without getting sick. If the same isn’t the case for Nagito, I’ll be able to eat it without having to throw up.”

This was met with more than a couple of confused looks. “Is there any reason why? Like, an allergy or something?” Mahiru asked, which caused me to laugh nervously.

“Deep rooted childhood trauma. I’ll elaborate later if you guys want to know,” I replied, then glanced over to Byakuya to see what his opinion was regarding my suggestion. With a huff, he simply rolled his eyes and waved his hand in a manner in a way of silently saying, ‘do what you think will work’. 

Teruteru caught on as to what we were discussing, then grew visibly excited as the both of us turned our attention to him. “Well, seeing as you folks need me to, I suppose that I’ll put my skills to good use. Just say the word and I’ll get cookin’!” he chirped, eagerly awaiting my say-so... If he weren’t such a pervert, then I’d think that he looked a little cute with his anticipation. 

“You can get started on it now. I don’t think it really matters what kind of fish, so you can choose whatever one you want. So long as it’s fishy tasting, it’ll work,” I responded with a shrug.  
Wow.  
I’m in front on a culinary prodigy willing to make me whatever I want and I just requested something that usually makes me run straight to a toilet to puke out. I’m not sure if I should be disappointed or proud of the fact that I didn’t ask for something else.

My request resulted in Teruteru nodding happily. “Very well. I know the perfect dish for this occasion! The English call it ‘fish supper’, though given the time of day right now, I guess it shouldn’t really be called ‘supper’...” he trailed off, then made his way towards the back of the restaurant and disappeared into a door (probably the door to the kitchen area).

Akane, realizing that he had just left to cook, quickly darted to the back as well. “Hey! Be sure to make some for me, too!” she called, then sauntered back over to the group, a smile spread out on her face. I’ll be honest, I was kind of expecting her to do something like that after seeing how much she could eat. The girl was a bottomless pit. 

“Say, Jen. If you don’t like the meal, you’ll give the rest to me, right?” Akane asked, though she already seemed to be giving off a vibe that she’d take it anyway. Seeing how eager she was to claim it, I just gave her a nod. This made her rub her hands together in anticipation for the possible extra plate, her already big smile growing.  
“Good! The old man over there is gonna be wanting me at my peak later on, so I gotta be as ready as ever!”

... ‘Old man’?

It didn’t take long for me to figure out that it was Nekomaru who was the one that was addressed, because his boisterous voice filled the restaurant right afterwards. “That’s right! I don’t expect you to disappoint! After all, you haven’t so far!” he laughed, then gave Akane a firm pat on the back (that would most definitely have knocked me over if I was the one receiving it).

Seeing an opportunity, Hajime walked to me and gestured towards the two. “Akane’s the Ultimate Gymnast while Nekomaru is the Ultimate Team Manager,” he explained, pointing to each one respectively. The term ‘team manager’ was another way of saying ‘coach’, right? So, Ultimate Coach? No wonder the two get along well together. Their talents and personalities absolutely complimented each other. It was honestly pretty adorable seeing them together. 

Seeing that I was looking at him, Nekomaru approached me and began to... Feel my shoulders? “Hm. Your muscles are tense. ‘Course, I won’t blame you for that. If you want, I could give you a little bit of ‘it’ to loosen you up. It helps Akane tons when I do ‘it’ to her,” he offered with a nod.

... Wait.  
‘It’?  
Was ‘it’ what I thought it was?  
Was he... I couldn’t help but ask, “U-uh. What do you mean by ‘it’?”

“Peaked your interest, eh?” he laughed, “I do ‘it’ to all my teammates! When I do, their performance is guaranteed to be amazing! C’mon, ‘it’ will definitely make the time fly right by while we wait!”  
Okay, now that just sounds even worse than before. I doubt that ‘it’ was anything bad, but this can be taken in multiple wrong ways. Was it a trade secret between him and his athletes or something? Is that why it’s only known as ‘it’?

Finally, my curiosity got the best of me. “Okay. I’ll let you do ‘it’ as long as it isn’t anything bad. Is there any specific place that we need to go?” I asked Nekomaru, however he only replied with a grin and a motion to follow him... As much as I didn’t want to go anywhere with someone who calls something ‘it’, I just couldn’t help myself. I eventually found myself following Nekomaru out of the hotel and to his cottage with Akane following close behind us. 

As soon as Nekomaru opened the door, Akane gave me a smug grin. “Once you’ve had a good dose of what the old man there has to offer, you’ll never be the same! I guarantee it!” she laughed, “I’ll be right outside waitin’ for my own turn, so don’t take too long, got it?”

Oh god, what have I just agreed to? Swallowing a dry breath, I slowly walked inside the cottage, causing Nekomaru to close the door behind me as soon as I entered. “Alright, Ginevra. Spread yourself out right there on your stomach,” he instructed as he pointed to his bed.  
Oh.  
... Oh.   
I couldn’t even find my voice in order to retort. In these kinds of situations, you have to do what a kidnapper says... Right? WOULD this be counted as a kidnapping even??? Nervously, I did what was told, trying to comprehend what exactly was going on. 

Before my mind could wander through possibilities, I felt a firm finger dig into my back. “Alright! Time to show you what an Ultimate Masseuse can do!”  
What followed was a barrage of forceful presses. However, it didn’t feel painful like I had anticipated. There was no discomfort that followed at all, actually. Instead, it felt... Heavenly! Absolutely amazing!!! I couldn’t even help myself from loosening up with every press!

“Th-this... This feels so good...” I heard myself sigh as I felt all of the tenseness just melt away. It was as if all the soreness was being purged to make room for maximized pleasure instead. Fortunately, Nekomaru didn’t stop at my comment and kept working his magic on me. I swear to god, I had NEVER felt anything so relaxing in months—no, not just months—years!! Just what kind of life was I living without something as wonderful as this?!

As I groaned in satisfaction with every perfect acupressure, time seemed to be lost to me. It was only after Nekomaru stopped that I took in the fact that this had been going on for at least fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes of absolute bliss.  
Glancing up at him, it only took my dreamy smile for Nekomaru to understand that I absolutely loved every bit of it. With a thumbs up, the buff teen gave me a wink, “Glad you liked it! It’s no good to be tense all the time, so if you ever want another little taste of ‘it’, just say the word and I’ll set you up with an appointment!”

Oh yes I would indeed take you up on that offer. In fact, I doubt that I’d ever be the same again after such a magical session. My new standard for massages had officially reached the goddamn stratosphere. As much as I wanted to have another go with ‘it’, I had to remember that Akane was waiting outside for her own turn. Plus, there’s also the ‘fish supper’ Teruteru was making that I needed to try for more information about my problem. 

Returning Nekomaru’s thumbs up with one of my own, I exited the cottage, which caused Akane to quickly slip inside and shut the door, the words, “Give it to me, old man!” being exclaimed as she did. All that was left now was to wait for the fish to be cooked and served. And maybe by that time, Akane’s session would be done as well. After all, from what I’ve seen from her so far, it would be weird for her NOT to make it in time to have a nice hot plate all to herself.


	14. What Remained

I still had to wait about thirty more minutes before Teruteru brought in the fish. Honestly, I understood why after seeing it, because it appeared that the said ‘fish supper’ was actually fish and chips. Something like that could take quite a while to make right, after all. By the time the plates were brought out, most of the kids had returned to the restaurant (Akane and Nekomaru still were probably wrapping up their session). Judging by the attendance, it seemed like all of the kids decided to stick around nearby in order to see what would happen when the fish was ready. That, or some were dragged here by others in order to have full attendance regardless if they wanted to or not. 

As I scanned the room, Hiyoko confirmed herself to be a part of the latter. “Where’s peabrain and the missing link? How come THEY don’t have to be here?!” she whined to Mahiru, pouting as she crossed her arms, “I don’t want to waste my time watching someone barf knowing that someone else doesn’t have to! It’s not fair!”

“Hiyoko, I’m sure that they’ll show up. Nobody is going to not witness what happens here, okay? It’s important,” Mahiru soothed, gently patting Hiyoko on the head, who in return seemed to ease up a bit. Part of me really was grateful the redhead was here, honestly. If she wasn’t, then there’s no doubt that Hiyoko would be behaving even worse. Then again, there’s that other part of me that wishes she weren’t here so that Hiyoko wouldn’t be here either... Regardless, it was truly important to have everyone here in order to discuss things further after this. 

Staring down at the fried fish in front of me, I could feel myself tense up. If my distaste DID transfer over, then no fish will be able to be kept down. Not even this expertly cooked one. And if it transferred over, then I’ll be having a live audience of me puking.  
God dammit. I really should have thought this through. 

My thoughts were interrupted by the rapid stomping of feet coming from below the restaurant, which quickly went to the direction of the stairs. It didn’t take me looking behind me to the staircase to know who was coming.  
“Sorry for the holdup! Just had to wrap up a little something with coach Nekomaru, you know?” I heard Akane’s voice sound, followed by loud laughter, which could only come from Nekomaru. As the two joined the crowd that was currently surrounding me, the tan girl looked over to Teruteru, an eyebrow raised. 

Without hesitation, she asked him, “So. Where’s my plate?”

In return, Byakuya huffed, crossing his arms. “I told him to hold off on giving you your share until afterwards. I’m not sure if you noticed, but this is important. Once we know how Ginevra reacts to eating fish, you can do whatever you want while the rest of us discuss the matter. You wouldn’t be much help anyway,” he spat, which caused Akane to mimic Hiyoko’s current pouting.

I guess now that everyone was here, I shouldn’t keep them waiting. Taking a deep breath, I took hold of my fork and cut into the fried fish with the edge. After successfully separating a piece, I took one more nervous glance to the kids, who were watching me carefully.

It definitely was intimidating, now that it was happening. I had a feeling that it would be overwhelming, but not like this...  
No! I shouldn’t let this scare me. I had to just grow up and get it over with. Quickly, I stuck the piece of fish onto my fork and forced myself to just eat it.

It... It definitely tasted fishy. The more that this registered onto my tongue, the more my brain was screaming at me that I was going to feel nauseous if it stayed inside of me. That I know what’s going to happen if I don’t. Despite all subconscious urging, however, I swallowed my bite and awaited the sickness that would follow.

“Well? How do you feel?” Hajime asked as he approached me cautiously.

I didn’t answer, but instead waited for the nausea to hit.  
... And continued to wait.  
Maybe I needed another bite? With my subconscious screaming at me to not, I cut off yet another piece of fish, then repeated what I did with the first.  
Nothing.

The look of bewilderment shown on my face was enough of an explanation as to what was going on, because I could see Byakuya cross his arms in thought. “It seems that Nagito’s previous tastes have remained regardless of whatever instances have happened to you prior,” he stated with a nod, “With this test concluded, we can safely say that the only thing that’s transferred over from you is your consciousness. Well, until otherwise is proven.”

After that was said, the restaurant was filled with thoughtful murmurs from the teenagers. Well. Akane appeared to be slightly interested for about two seconds before sauntering over to the seat next to me, plopping down into it, then calling out to Teruteru, “I’m ready for my order! C’mon! I’m hungry!”

As the Ultimate Chef scurried into the restaurant’s kitchen, Hajime made his way over to me, his eyes scanning me up and down. “When does this sickness usually start? Does it happen right after eating or a while later?” he asked me. I guess I don’t blame him. I didn’t really elaborate on just how it worked.

“It usually happens seconds after I eat it, which is why I ate more after my first bite. I wanted to try and trigger it, you know?” I explained as I prodded the rest of the fish with my fork, “I know it isn’t because of so many people watching me either. It always would happen whether people were watching or not. This is the first time I’ve eaten fish without any trouble.”

My explanation caused Hajime to hum to himself, as if pondering what to say in response to that. I don’t really blame him. It’d be hard to find something to really branch off of that. Before he could finally respond, Peko raised her hand, indicating that she had something to say, “There’s one thing that’s been on my mind after hearing about Nagito’s talent remaining with his body...”

The white noise present in the restaurant died down as everyone’s attention turned towards Peko. “Could there be a possibility that other things have remained as well?” she suggested, causing a new concern to become apparent. 

“You mean, like, mentally?” Mahiru asked her, which was returned with a nod. I... Honestly hadn’t considered that yet. She’s sharp. 

Chiaki decided to join in this discussion, “None of us really had a chance to get to know him too well to know what he’s like, so it’ll be hard to really know. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t watch out for anything that might hint at it, you know?”

“Yeah. If that is a possibility, I’ll be sure to let everyone know if I notice anything different,” I replied, keeping a facade of calm. It truly was a really scary thought, all things considered. If this did eventually happen, would I even notice it? And if it happened, would my personality be overwritten with Nagito’s?

Shaking these thoughts out of my head, I resorted to munching on one of the ‘chips’ that went with my meal. I had to take my mind off of it somehow, so what better way to do so? But even though it apparently was now okay for me to eat fish, I decided against it. Previous memories eating it just took the joy out of it for me. Maybe when I’m done with the chips, I’ll let Akane have my share. 

Ding dong!

As an automated bell sounded throughout the restaurant, everyone ceased whatever conversation they were having. It was only seconds later that the monitor in the room flickered on, revealing Usami in her colorful room, same as with the announcement for nighttime. In a rather frantic tone, she spoke, “Everyone! Please wrap up what you’re doing and go to the park immediately! We have a few things that need to be addressed!”


	15. The Class Goals

Despite how many times that I had visited this specific park already, I hadn’t actually been inside of it until now. Upon arriving in the park’s square, there was one thing that stood out from everything else around me. A large statue right smack dab in the center of the area depicting a man riding a horse surrounded by a tiger and a large serpent on both sides. Needless to say, it stuck out like a sore thumb.  
Huh... Now that I took the time to take a look around, the vegetation in the park itself definitely didn’t look like anything a tropical paradise would have naturally. Maybe it was intended to be that way? As in the trees were moved here from somewhere else? Well, I haven’t really been to many tropical places in the first place, so I guess I shouldn’t be the judge of what’s natural for one and what wasn’t. 

So... Where was Usami? She wanted us to gather here for some reason, but she wasn’t necessarily visible...  
Pop!  
Speak of the devil. The very plush bunny popped out from the top of the statue and floated to the ground in front of us the moment I had thought of her. Was she psychic or something? It would explain the fantastical powers she had. 

“Thanks fow coming evewyone!” she greeted happily as she jumped with glee, “I’m happy that all of you made it! Now we can begin doing what was intended!”

“What was intended?” I heard Hajime repeat questioningly from beside me, which was returned with a nod from the rabbit.

“The whole instance with Ginevwa has weally set us back a few days, but we still need to get to work with evewyone love-loving each other! Until Nagito gets back, Ginevwa’s gonna have to take his place and pawticipate in the heart-thwobbing school twip’s activities! Now I shall now explain your time on this long-awaited school twip!”

... Wait, what? What exactly was I participating in exactly? Apparently Kazuichi wasn’t too thrilled to hear about having to do something productive, as his response said it all, “What the heck does that mean?! We can’t just spend time playing around?!”  
Well, I’m guessing he doesn’t know that not all field trips are devoid of academics.

Togami’s reaction was different, as his stern reply dripped with both incisiveness and intrigue rather than disappointment, “So, we’re finally getting to the point... As I recall, you said we had to survive here... What does that mean?”

Survive? Nothing really screamed ‘survive’ from what I had witnessed regarding fully furnished cabins and a restaurant as our means of shelter. I guess everyone has different interpretations of survival? If that’s the case, Usami’s is very ‘wide-ranging’ so to speak. Maybe it’s a psychological kind of term. Like a Gloria Gaynor kind of interpretation of how I will survive. Hey hey. “That’s right, you have to survive,” Usami confirmed with a nod, “Evewyone’s goal is to collect all the Hope Fwagments.”

“Um... What exactly are ‘Hope Fragments?” I couldn’t help but ask, the confusion on my face now growing more prominent as the information I was given was processed.

Fortunately, I was given an explanation. “Oh, that’s wight! You don’t know! Hope Fwagments are little cwystals of fwiendship you obtain fwom getting to know your fellow classmates. Since you’re hewe for the time being, I decided to tempowawily have you fill in. After all, gathewing Hope Fwagments for the school twip is super duper impowtant! Take a look at the e-Handbook when you get the chance!”

E-Handbook? Wasn’t that the thing that looked like a cellphone? I never really had the time to mess around with it because of the whole chaos surrounding my predicament. In fact, I completely disregarded it due to the panic. If it’s actually something I needed, then taking it with me would probably be for the best. 

“Sooooo, fwom this point on, evewyone on this island will coopewate and live together for fowty-eight days!”

Did.   
Did she just say forty-eight days?  
... FORTY-EIGHT?! THAT WAS OVER A MONTH AND A HALF!  
I was really close to breaking out of my thoughts to rightfully exclaim my surprise, but Ibuki managed to project both mine and everyone else’s astonishment well. “Forty-eight DAYS?! That’s a super long time!”

“Tch... That long..?”  
That could have only come from Fuyuhiko. It amazed me that he managed to keep calm in this situation. It seemed like he seriously wanted to keep devoted to being a tough guy regardless of hearing this ridiculous amount of time we had to spend here. Upon looking to him, however, I could sense a sort of unease that he couldn’t manage to hide under the moxie he gave off.

Togami followed up as he continued his interrogation. “Who cares about the length? More importantly, what do you mean by ‘cooperate’?” he demanded as he began to grow slightly agitated.

Usami’s short response came with a happy singsong voice, “I mean the class goal!”

The rest of us looked to each other, exchanging confused looks as we did. By the looks of it, none of the teens knew what the rabbit was talking about. And so, Akane piped up, “Class goal?”

“In order to make evewyone get along even more, I’ll wegularly ask you to work together to make things,” Usami explained, “Simply put, you guys will work together to cweate the item I ask for!”

Does this mean we’re going to be going through child labor or something? If that’s the case, then this just took a turn for the dark. And it seems like I wasn’t the only one that thought of this as child labor, because everyone’s uncomfortable expressions were a telltale sign of the relatively same idea. “Ngh... I don’t want any trouble...” I could hear Nekomaru mumble (while picking his nose, I might add, which made me mentally note to both throw my parka into the laundry hamper and take a shower when I got back from my cottage). 

“U-um... If we can’t do it, a-are we going to...um... Get p-punished?” Mikan stammered, which was honestly a valid question. If this WAS a child labor camp or something, then not meeting a quota would definitely get you some ‘bad experiences’.  
Her suggestion caused Usami to gasp in horror. 

“D-Don’t be absurd! There’s no penalty for failing to make the item!” she replied with her own stammer, “In fact, if you achieve your goal, I’ll give you something nice!”

Well, that’s a relief. At least that magic want won’t be used as an impromptu paddle or some shit. But what does she mean by ‘something nice’? “Alwight! Let’s twy making an item now!” Usami announced, waving her wand while doing a little spin as sparkles began to appear all around the front of the statue. As the sparkles gathered together into two separate piles, I could see that they were now taking specific shapes...  
“Now then, the fiwst goal I need you to make is...”  
In a puff of smoke, both a sign and a table had materialized with the sign having four words written onto the front:

‘Flower Pin x1’. 

“... Wight here!”

Upon seeing that a ‘flower pin’ was needed, it was Hajime’s turn to ask a question that was on everyone’s mind. “A flower pin..? What’s that?”

“It’s a haiwpin made of pwetty flowers! It’s vewy lovely! Love! Love!” Usami answered with a little dance, “Pwease make one!”

She says that, but I don’t think I’ve ever made anything like a hairpin in my entire life. And to be honest, I doubt Nagito has either. I mean, I’ve made a few trinkets here and there back in elementary school, but I don’t really remember hairpins being one of them.

“You say that, but... What do we have to do?” Mahiru asked Usami, equally as confused as I was. Oh. Wait. Everyone was as confused as I was. Well, at least I’m not alone with the whole thing.  
... Actually, I don’t think many of these kids have done any crafts in general.

Sonia agreed with Mahiru, following up with her earlier statement, “You are right... We do not have any sort of materials...”  
Now that I looked around the table, she was correct. There was no sign of anything set out for us. No scissors, no glue, no nothing. I mean, it wasn’t impossible to do it without such things, but it would take longer than it should... It would also be a bit flimsy now that I really thought about it. But I don’t think we’d even be able to make a flimsy one seeing as there also weren’t any components around to make anything of the sort.

Fortunately, Usami was prepared for this concern. “You need to visit vawious aweas of the island and gather matewials. Ah, but there’s no need to wowwy! I’ve alweady gathered the matewials you need for your fiwst goal. Let’s twy a pwactice session fiwst! Soooooo... Here you go.”  
And with one more ‘pop’, a number of items filled the table along with a few booklets.

As a group, the teens and I approached the table to inspect the items laid out in front of us.  
On the table was a vine, some glue, and... A knife? Was that supposed to be a replacement for scissors or something? It’s definitely more effective, but I can certainly see some injuries as a result of carelessness. As soon as we got a good look at the current items, Usami spoke up once more.

“Afterwards...”  
Pop!  
This time multiple different colored flowers and a few seashells appeared beside the other items.  
“If you follow the diwections in the booklets I supplied to you by making wope with the fiwst thwee items then using it in the supplied wecipe with the other matewials, you’ll be able to make a flower pin! Pwease bwing it to me when you’re finished. Twy not to get distwacted,” Usami informed, then gave us a perky, “Okay! Have a nice day!”

So, we gotta make the rope itself. Yeah, okay then. I can see that.  
With that, we all gathered around the booklets and read over the needed recipes.


	16. The Practice Pin

Making the flower pin wasn’t too difficult in the end. It might have taken all of us to actually make it, but the directions in the books explained things well. It was actually pretty fun doing it with everyone pitching in. Truthfully, I thought making the part with making the rope would be hard, but it wasn’t too bad. Since it was made from a tree vine, it had a sort of rustic look, which really fit for the hairpin’s style.

Usami was right. It was lovely. I’m not one for fashion or anything, but I wouldn’t deny that we did a pretty good job for our first try. Sure, it had a few imperfections, but things like that add to the charm, right?  
Seeing that we were done, Usami pranced over happily. “Okay! You did vewy well!” she cheered, “I’ll give you some tickets!”

As promised, Usami handed a small amount of ticket-shaped slips of paper to me then went to the others to continue distributing, leaving me to inspect them curiously. ‘Trip Ticket’. What did that mean exactly? “I’ll cawefully explain how they work later, so make sure you don’t thwow them away!” she announced as she finished handing out the rest. So, they’re important? Guess they have to be if they’re what we’re being rewarded with for finishing the crafts. And so, I slipped the tickets into one of my parka’s pockets. I know it wasn’t really a secure place for them, but I didn’t exactly have a bag to put them in at the moment. It was convenient enough. 

As soon as everyone stashed their tickets away, Usami giggled as she asked, “How is it? Do you undewstand how to do it now?”

“This is just too easy!” I heard Teruteru laugh, seemingly relieved that the tasks we had to do weren’t too bad... But everyone knows what happens when someone comments on how easy something is.

“Hm... Since it’s not too difficult, we might be able to do this.”  
... Peko, not you too.

Seeing the collective optimism accumulating from each student, Usami began to gush with excitement. “Nice work, evewyone! Now then, pwease do your best to gather matewials for next time!” she instructed happily as she flew on top of the table and took the pin, “Even if you don’t do it well at fiwst, you’ll get the hang of it with enough pwactice!”

She then jumped off of it and made her way to the front of our group to continue her lecture. “However, pwease don’t overwork yourselves. It’s also impowtant that you west if you get tired. Also, make sure you keep your wooms cwean! If they get too diwty, you’ll have to do something unpleasant...”  
The way she got so stern about having our rooms clean was actually pretty intimidating. Especially the fact about having to do something ‘unpleasant’ if they were too much of a mess. I get that we had to keep the place nice, but it was going to extremes if we’d do something ‘unpleasant’ for it. What exactly would we have to do? Thinking about it really didn’t help with my general stress levels. Especially since I wasn’t really good with keeping my room tidy.

“The main goal of this school twip is to gather all the Hope Fwagments before time wuns out! Pwease don’t fowget that!” Usami said once more to us. If she was drilling it into our heads this much, then whatever these were, they were more important than the Trip Tickets. And would it really take approximately over a month to get them all? If so, then hot damn.

“Now then, here is your next cwass goal!” she announced as she made her way to the sign, “The next goal is... The same thing! This time, pwease make it by gathewing matewials! I’ll check in four days to see if you’ve finished!”

And with that, the magical bunny vanished behind the statue, leaving us to figure out what to do. “So... She said for us to go to different areas of the island, but where exactly should we go?” Kazuichi asked the rest of us as he looked around awkwardly, “Like. This place is big, right? The materials could be anywhere.”

“That’s true, but I think Usami has that taken care of,” Chiaki replied as she approached the table and picked up one of the booklets labeled ‘Locations’, leafing through it while nodding, “Yeah. These have a catalog of the items needed for the crafts and where to find them. Seems like glue can be found in Rocketpunch Market, the seashells can be found on the coast and in the ocean, the red flowers can be found in the mountains, the green flowers can be found in the forest, the tree vine can be found in the ruins, and the knife can be found in the military base.”

I nodded through the first few locations until it got to ruins and military base. As I took that information in, my bewilderment was no surprise. “Th... There’s a MILITARY BASE here?!” I asked through my trembling voice. The ruins that were mentioned might just be decorative for all I know, but MILITARY BASE?! REALLY?!

Chiaki’s serene smile was what calmed me down. “Don’t worry. We’ll only send you there if it’s really necessary, okay?” the girl reassured, “We should start distributing people to places starting now though. Where does everyone think we should start with?”

“I think it’ll be better to go four ways and have four of us each visit some required areas to look around for the materials all at once,” Hajime replied, which resulted in Togami nodding in approval. To be honest, I liked that direction as well. Best to get things out of the way, right?

In the end, it was decided that the places we would begin our material-searching would be the ruins, the forest, the mountains, and the beach. But as for where everyone would go? That was to be decided with chance. After writing locations onto sixteen slips of paper, each one of us chose one from a cup that was passed around from person to person. Upon selecting my slip and handing the cup to Gundham, I opened it up and read the location I was given.

‘Mountains’. 

Huh. It was actually the one I was eager to see. Maybe that’s because I got it? Because of the whole luck thing? Who knows. Seeing as everyone now had their slips, it was time to see who was going with who. “Um... I got mountains, so anyone else who has it can just gather around over here with me?” I offered, backing away from the group to make some room. Well, it seemed like Ibuki, Mahiru, and Gundhan weren’t in my group seeing as they had separated themselves as well and announced their own different locations in order for whoever with the same ones to gather with them. After everyone was in their respective groups, I now took a glance to my own crew.

Fuyuhiko, Kazuichi, and Hajime.

Two people who hate me. Great. At least Hajime was here as well, so it wouldn’t be too bad... Looking to us, he cleared his throat, “Okay, so I think one of these books is a map of the island. Let’s find where the mountains are and make our way over there to begin.”

“Don’t tell us shit we already know. Just shut up and stop acting like you’re the boss of me,” Fuyuhiko snapped back, “It’s hell enough that I gotta stay here for so long. I don’t need any dumbasses here telling me the obvious as well.”

The more Fuyuhiko spoke, the more I felt as if it would take a miracle to get that stick out of his ass.

After the teams were properly divided, each of us took our turns with finding where our respective locations were in the booklet containing the map. This also helped me have a good look at the overall layout. Hm. Seems like each bridge connected to an individual island rather than two connecting to a larger one like my previous hypothesis. Which would mean that there really were five islands in total... Exactly how many locations were we going to go to for materials in general?

Whatever. I’ll look more into the other locations later. For now, I had to pinpoint where the mountains were.  
After pinpointing the location (which was coincidentally on the same island where we had the beach party), our group of four began travel to the destination. Seeing as the only things that we really needed were the red flowers, it wouldn’t be too difficult to find them... Right?

As the other groups disappeared to their own locations, realization hit me instantly. I might have actually just jinxed myself with that thought process. No way would it be that easy. It never was, after all. Especially since I now had this double-edged luck.   
After a trek across the ‘2’ bridge, I could see that a new path had been constructed. No, it wasn’t necessarily a proper road so to say. It looked more like the start of a hiking trail if I had to be specific. What stood out about it the most, however, was the ramshackle arrow-shaped sign that had what appeared to be a cartoony mountain drawn onto it.

It didn’t really take a genius to figure out that this must be where we should go. Especially since the trail was leading to a literal mountain on the horizon. And so, we began to hike.


	17. The Mountain

If I had to describe myself in a few words when it comes to how I am when it comes to physical activity, I’d have to say that ‘poor endurance’ and ‘non-athletic’ would fit nicely. Although, I did enjoy a good walk if I felt up for it. Especially if it was a nice day for it. But it was definitely no fun trudging up the mountain path. I mean, walking uphill is NEVER a good experience, you know? I wasn’t sure if my exhausted panting after reaching to top was due to Nagito’s stamina or my own, but I wasn’t the only one who was exhausted at least. Looking to the others, they seemed pretty tired from the uphill trail as well.

As soon as I caught my breath, my eyes fell upon a two large, wooden crates laying a few feet away from us, both equally as big as the other. By my guess they had to be... Four feet all around, give or take? Five? I’m not too good at measuring this kind of stuff, much less at a distance. But I could make out that one of them had what appeared to be sticks poking out of the top.

Once I approached the crates, I could make out a small pamphlet leaning on the side of one of them with the words ‘Mountain Guide’ printed across the front. After bending down and picking it up, I opened it to instantly figure out that it had to be a sort of showcase involving the materials around the area. At least, that’s what my assumption was after seeing the first page, which had different pictures of the red flowers that Usami had brought us for the practice pin... Yet after flipping to the next one, all I could see were empty pages, as if someone neglected finishing it. Hm. Maybe we had to figure it out ourselves. Or maybe we had to find things that looked useful and document our findings inside it? I didn’t see a pen or anything to do that though.

Reaching the back of the pamphlet, the word ‘Rules’ was printed in big bold letters followed by a list of guidelines.  
Since I was at it, I decided to read them to my team as they came to see what I was looking at.  
“‘Rule number one: No taking the tools from the location. Rule number two: Don’t leave anything lying around. Rule number three: Use the appropriate tools for the appropriate materials. Rule number four: All materials collected go in the designated crate and taken to Jabberwock Park. Rule number five: Cease all work as soon as you hear the whistle. Tip: If you find an item that’s useful, it’ll be documented into this pamphlet on one of the blank pages.’”

After I read the rules, Hajime made his way to the crates, peered into one, then blinked as he reached inside. After grabbing onto something, he pulled it out, revealing something... Well, I guess unexpected is the right word. 

Hajime pulled out a pickaxe. 

Upon seeing the tool, Fuyuhiko came closer to get a better look at it. “Is she expecting us to mine stuff here?” he scoffed, clearly unamused with this development, “This is bullshit! I’m not some coal miner or whatever! And I’m NOT gonna go around picking flowers like some pansy ass!”

“Um... I can look around for the flowers,” I offered nervously as Fuyuhiko fumed. This resulted in him turning to me and crossing his arms as he gave me a glare. I’m not exactly sure if it was because of his prior irritation or because of me, but it still was terrifying. Hell, he was terrifying regardless of his adorable face (though, the same could be said for Hiyoko, so maybe it wasn’t too much of a surprise). 

“Since we need the flowers for the goal, I can help you out if you want,” Hajime responded to me, then turned to Fuyuhiko, “Can we leave finding other things to you and Kazuichi?”

Upon being addressed, Kazuichi turned his attention to Hajime, then pouted once he processed the words said. Yeah, not many people would like to be told to do anything like this. I don’t really blame him. “This sucks, man... Didn’t even think that we’d have to do something like this...” he grumbled, “Think we’re being exploited for, like, child labor or something? I mean, there’s more of those cameras scattered around even up here.”

Looking around to see what he was talking about, I noticed one camera positioned right at us. Then another in a different location of the mountain. Hell, everywhere I looked, there was at least one to be found. “Yeah. Judging by where they’re all placed, I think they’re surveying practically every corner of the area,” I confirmed, which resulted in Hajime and Fuyuhiko looking for themselves as the latter spat out a very distinct ‘what the fuck’. You know? I’m starting to think that Kazuichi might just be right about the whole child labor thing.

Hajime turned to us after his look around and gave us a nod. “Okay. Let’s get started,” he announced, then looked at me, “If I had to guess, those flowers are in a field or something nearby. So, let’s head on over to one with some flowers in it.”  
Alright, so MAYBE I was a little bit excited. I like flowers, okay?

I also like Hajime.  
He’s... Really nice.  
I’m really glad he offered to help me out.   
I doubt he actually wants to be friends with me though. I mean. What teenager would even want to be friends with some body-snatcher that’s six or seven years older than them who honestly has no clue what to do with her life?

“Ginevra? You okay?”

Hajime’s words snapped me out of my thoughts. “Yeah. Just lost in my mind is all. Lead the way,” I replied with a small smile, which was returned by him. He then pointed to a small field dotted with an assortment of flower patches, each containing all sorts of flowers. Fortunately, the walk there didn’t take too long. Maybe because it was already at the top of the hill? I’m grateful for that at least. I truly am.

Once the two of us had our own patch of flowers to sift through, it was time to get to work.  
I figured that I should take some other flowers in case of the chance that one of them might be useful for a project. You can’t be too careful, right?

But you want to know something about those red flowers?  
They were small. Well, small compared to the flowers here. So finding one in a bunch of flowers and weeds was definitely the same as trying to find a needle in a haystack. And apparently, these flowers weren’t the most common thing around. “Are you having any luck over there?” I called out to Hajime as I plucked out what turned out to only be a darker pink flower instead of a red one. It’s pretty, that’s for sure, but I doubt that replacing a material was an option. 

“No. It’s almost like there’s no such thing as a red flower in this place,” he called back, but then quickly followed up on his reply, “Wait! Hold on! I think I found one!”

“Really?!”

In what had to be less than a second, I was making my way over to him, excited to see the elusive red flower... And sure enough, there it was. The same deep red color as the one we were given by Usami. Looking to me, Hajime gave me a grin. “I’m going to go put this in the crate. You okay with looking on your own for a few minutes?”

I returned his grin as I responded, “I don’t mind. After all, we need two of them, right? And maybe I’ll find more for some future goals, yeah?”  
Now that I thought about it, just how many goals will we have to do in order for Usami to be satisfied? If two days have already passed and we have about the rest of the week to finish this one... And this trip lasts fifty days... God, multiplication was never my strong suit... Okay, so three sevens are twenty-one...two twenty-ones are forty-two...and one more seven is forty-nine.  
So, seven sevens since you can’t really cram another week into one day. Seven goals for seven weeks. Well, maybe. Not sure if we’d get more time for some of them or not, but hey. It’s a good guess. But whatever. Back to looking for the flowers.

I figured that my patch probably didn’t have any and Hajime’s was now devoid of any. So, I took to another patch to look. Well unfortunately, as soon as my eyes fell upon the field stretched out in front of me, the mesmerizing sight simply put me in a trance. I really can’t help it when I see vistas like this! The beauty of it all was just amazing! The way everything just comes together in these places are just so captivating. In fact, the peacefulness of it was making me a little sleepy. And the flowers really smelled nice. Especially when they were so close like this. 

“Ginevra? Why are you sprawled out in the flowers?”

I jumped as I heard my name. Quickly, I scrambled out from my ‘flower bed’ and sat up straight in front of Hajime. Fuck. He must think I’m a freak now. An absolute weirdo. I blew it. “I-I’m really sorry. I just really like places like these and added to how calm everything was, I uh. Yeah,” I said sheepishly as I played with one of the flowers next to me.

I expected him to scold me for slacking off. Or laugh at how stupid I was. Or tell me how weird that is. But instead, he just sat down right next to me as he stared towards the field I had been looking before. The words he said weren’t anything bad as I had thought they would be either. “Yeah. This place really is nice. I don’t blame you. I didn’t expect that I’d be seeing this at all in my lifetime. Only on TV or pictures.”

To say I was stunned would be an understatement, but as soon as I took in what this scene probably looked like I mentally groaned. I’d most definitely see this in one of my mom’s rom coms.  
Okay, time to get out of this tacky situation before we started talking about our past experiences with love or whatever the hell this leads up to in those movies. Getting up from the spot I was in, I was now a bit paranoid about this whistle the rules talked about. If we only collected one flower, then that means we’d have to come back. And I could tell that in a couple of hours, coming back wouldn’t be what my legs wanted to do the next day. Especially after the hike down the mountain while carrying a big crate. 

I knew that it would most definitely mess with me later, but I had no choice. With all of my willpower, I put my faith into Nagito’s ‘superpower’. It’s lucksterin’ time. Well. I had my belief in the luck. But how exactly should I go about this? So far the luck’s only been spontaneous. Would this actually work if I were actually thinking about it? Closing my eyes, I outstretched my hand and felt around the flower patch, using equal chance for each flower.

I stopped. This is the one.  
Plucking it, I opened my eyes and—oh. Another pink flower.  
The Lovin’ Spoonful was wrong. Magic isn’t real. There is no magic in rock and roll. Nothing will set me free. My life has been a lie. Before I could get up to leave, something now caught my eye.  
A red flower. Just. There. On the edge of the flower bed. Almost as if it were waiting for me to get up to see it.

Well, of course I picked it. With a sunny smile on my face, I presented it to Hajime. “I got the last one we needed!”  
TWEEEEEEEEEET!!!  
A loud sound echoed through the area. It actually resembled a whistle now that I thought about it. Was that what the rules meant about the ‘whistle’? There’s no way it could have been anything else, right?

“I guess that’s the signal to get going,” Hajime said to me after the whistle sounded, “Pretty sure the others will need help with the crate. I peeked in there while dropping off the flower and they definitely were busy. I think I saw some ore in there.”

I got a concerned feeling after hearing that. “Wouldn’t a tiny flower be crushed underneath a bunch of ore?” I asked nervously. No way in hell was I gonna come back here because some guys crushed a flower with some raw metal.

Fortunately, Hajime shook his head with a laugh. “Don’t worry. There’s a toolbox in the crate with the pickaxes that I put it in. We’ll have to find a way to carry them back without it because of the rules, but it’s safe,” he reassured, then turned towards the direction of what could be called be called base camp, “I’m sure those two will need help with the crate since everything in there are rocks and minerals, so let’s go before Fuyuhiko blows his top.”


	18. Finally Meeting Him

Going uphill had been hell in itself. But I had at least assumed that the walk downhill would be better. Scenic, refreshing, invigorating... But when you have to carry a crate packed to the brim with ore while trudging down the mountain path, it’s even worse. Much, much worse. And it appeared that I wasn’t the only one feeling the burn, because the collective grunts from my teammates were replacing the chirping birds in the background. 

“Fucking... Bitchass... Rabbit...”  
“I don’t think... I like... Field... Trips...”  
“We can do it... I think I see the bottom...”

With every slow step the four of us took in unison, the ground began to even out to a more flatter state. Pretty soon, we were walking past the sign pointing to the mountain and towards the growing form of Jabberwock Park. “We’re... Nearly there...” I wheezed out, which caused the rest of us to quicken our pace towards one of the park’s entrances. The moment I could hear stone below my feet, the fatigue instantly faded. 

All I cared about was getting over to the plaza. We were just a few feet away! Just a little more and we’ll be done!  
As we entered into the park, what stood out was that there was another crate placed beside the statue in the middle. Might as well place our load next to that one. Fortunately, my group had the same idea, as we were now trudging over to drop our load beside it.

As soon as we did, I’m positive that each one of us collapsed onto the stone bricks at the same time, all of us having our own side of the crate to lean on as we caught our breath. Through my breaths, I could hear Hajime pant out, “Do... Do you think that we’re going to have to do that every time we need materials?”

“If so, then we’ll die before the end of the trip,” Kazuichi replied with genuine concern in his voice. It might be an exaggeration, but it really did feel like it was a possibility.

A thought then sparked into my head.  
“Hey... Added with the whole physical labor, if we have to carry the crate at the end of the whole material-gathering thing... You think we’ll all end up looking like Nekomaru after this is over?”  
My question was met with silence.  
Before I could mentally beat myself for saying something like that, all three of them began to erupt into laughter, which resultantly caused me to join in as well. It might have been because of our exhaustion that my stupid joke was considered funny to us. In fact, I’m more than positive that if I said that when we weren’t as tired, it would only result in them staring at me like I’m some weirdo. 

After our laughing fit, we managed to stand up with help from the crate’s corners and take a look towards what was in the other one. Glue... Water bottles... Oil... Everything inside seemed to not really be from the tropics or anything. Rather, they seemed to be things you’d find in a convenience store.

“Nice to see that you’re back. I got here with my team not too long ago.”

Jumping in surprise at the sudden voice, I spun around only to find Chiaki giving the rest of us her usual owlish stare. She definitely knew how to sneak up on people, huh? “Usami said that you only have to move crates over here once. There’s gonna be another crate set up where you were before, but you’ll only need to put the materials into the crate there and it’ll appear in the one here. Kind of like a fast travel sort of thing. It’ll also get rid of things that aren’t considered materials and gives you only what you need.”

Okay. Well, at least that was a one-time thing. I still felt pretty tired though... And now I realized that there must be a few other places that still need to have crates moved over here. I’m normally someone who loves to help out, but the thought of going through something like this again was really making me think of any possible way to not do it. 

“So, uh. You were on a team with Miss Sonia, right? Can you tell me where she is?” Kazuichi asked Chiaki with a twinkle in his eye... God, he’s so desperate but so cute about this whole crush thing. Hopefully he realizes the reason why it’s called a ‘crush’ in the first place. 

In response to his question, Chiaki hummed in thought. After a while of thinking, she shook her head, “Well, we went to Rocketpunch Market. It might have been a pretty easy place to find things, but it was a hike from there to here and carrying that huge crate was really tiring. She said that she was going to her cabin for a little bit—“

“Perfect! I can give her a massage or something!”

“—and asked Gundham to make sure that no creepy stalkers try to break in and mess with her.”

Upon hearing that, Kazuichi looked absolutely offended. At first, I figured that it was because Sonia considered him a ‘creepy stalker’, but my assumption was apparently wrong once I heard his reply, “I’m completely capable of driving off anyone that would dare harm Lady Sonia, whether they be creepy, a stalker, or both! I’m far better at protecting resting maidens than that rat-loving freak!”  
Well, at least his heart is in the right place. I guess. 

Speaking of resting, it wasn’t a half bad idea to take a nap in the meantime. I was pretty sore from carrying the ‘fast travel’ crate and sleeping for a few hours would help ease that a little bit. “I’m gonna go to my cottage too. I’m pretty tired and a nap would really help with making my limbs not feel like rubber. I’ll be back for dinner tonight, so... Yeah,” I told the teens before making my way out of the plaza and towards the direction of the bridge that led to my temporary ‘home’. 

It definitely had been a full day. Sure, I only picked flowers, but to be honest, it was just as exhausting as mining in its own special way. Having to sift through thousands of flowers that look exactly the same in order to find one you’re looking for really starts giving you a major headache. It’s almost like it’s Where’s Waldo 2.0. 

Before I even knew it, I had arrived at the door to my cottage. Time really flies when you’re stuck in your own head. Upon opening the door, I was about to make a V-line for my bed until I noticed Usami appear from the corner of my eye, skipping over to me. “Hi, Ginevwa! I have a little pwesent for you!” she chirped. I didn’t really know what kind of look I managed to give her in my fatigued, I’m-two-feet-away-from-bed-and-you’re-keeping-me-from-it stupor, but it resulted in a scared “K-kyaaaa!” from the magical stuffed bunny.

Frantically, I tried to calm her down. “I-I’m sorry! I’m just really tired! Really, it’s nothing bad! I’m not angry!” I stammered. My explanation made Usami sniffle a little bit before wiping her eyes from the tears that had almost become present. Nodding, she gave a smile to me (I assume) as her little wings flapped cutely.

“Okay! I had a feewing that something wike that was going on! You don’t seem wike someone mean!” Usami chirped, then spun around a bit, “Pwesent time now!”  
As she waved her large wand in the air, the usual gleam of sparkles materialized onto the coffee table. After they began to gather together, a cartoonish puff of smoke caused a small white box to appear where the sparkles once were. And to top it all off, the box was complete with a cute pink ribbon on top of it. Eagerly, she motioned towards it, indicating her anticipation to see me open it. 

Well, I didn’t really want to leave her hanging. Stepping towards the table and picking up the box, I undid the ribbon, opened it, and peeked inside it to find...

The crude hairpin that the kids and I had made.

Looking to the bunny-teacher, I gave her a puzzled look. “Why’re you giving me this?”

“Weeelllll... I was thinking that having to tell evewyone that you awen’t Nagito all the time would be weally hawd. So, I thought that you could use the pin to show that it’s Ginevwa inside!” Usami explained cheerfully. I had to admit, it was a good plan. Putting this cute hairpin in my hair to stop having to deal with the whole identity thing really would ease a little bit of my perpetually growing anxiety.

“Thanks, Usami. I’ll try it out at dinner to see what everyone thinks, yeah?”

Usami responded with a giggle and an energetic nod before vanishing out of view, leaving me alone in my cottage once more. Now that she was gone, the exhaustion I had been feeling hit me like freight train. I could keep awake for the rest of the day, but I know that the grouchy expression I gave Usami would translate to my attitude sooner or later.  
And that bed looked like it was comfier than usual.

So, after setting the hairpin onto my nightstand, I snuggled into the covers and began my nap. 

~~~

My eyes opened to a dark void.  
I knew that I had fallen asleep, yet for some reason, I felt as if I had already been awake... But my eyes might as well still have been closed, because the darkness around me obscured my vision. As far as the eye could see, there was only the the same black nothingness that followed.

Maybe it was a curtain? Holding my hand out to see if my guess was true, I froze. My hand—no—my entire arm was a flickering, transparent mass of GREEN LIGHT!! Hell, it didn’t even LOOK like an arm!! It looked more like a flame than anything else! Pulling it back, I frantically checked around myself only to find that my entire being was the same. Clusters of the same earthy green light. In fact, upon closer inspection, I was floating... FLOATING? It didn’t feel like I was floating! 

As I continued to inspect the lustrous light that I was composed of, a flash appeared above me, seemingly imitating a stage light. What followed were steps approaching me from the darkness. “This must be you, right? Well, not in the flesh.”

That voice... It was familiar. Really familiar. Looking up, I was almost convinced that I was facing a mirror. Fluffy white hair, pale skin, mint green eyes... Yeah, it was the appearance I had grown accustomed to seeing as myself. So at least I knew that this light illuminated enough to show a mirror. Well, that’s what I thought it was until the ‘reflection’ gave me a friendly wave without my influence. 

“Well, I guess we should introduce ourselves properly. Sure, you might know who I am already just by looking, but we’ve never actually met, right?” the pseudo reflection suggested as he gave me a gentle smile, “I’m Nagito Komaeda.”  
As he introduced himself, I couldn’t help but be in a slight daze as I processed what was said. If I heard that correctly... I was finally meeting Nagito. The student that I was currently in the body of. The Ultimate Lucky Student. But, was it really? Was I just dreaming this? I’ve been here long enough to make something like this into a dream.

But if this weren’t a dream and I was actually speaking to him somehow, he seemed like a pretty relaxed person. Unlike how I spoke with his voice, which sounded like a mix of a nervous wreck and the full definition of the effeminate ‘gay friend’ stereotype in rom coms, he spoke in a more calm and collected tone that seemed to just ease my nerves when I listened to him.

Be him a figment of my imagination pieced together to what I believed he was like or not, I replied with my own introduction without a second thought about it, “I’m Ginevra Harris. Same as you, you probably already knew that, but it’s nice to meet you regardless.”  
When I said that, I sputtered a little bit in surprise. That wasn’t Nagito’s voice, but it wasn’t my own voice either. Instead, it sounded like a strange array of sounds that came together in order to make the sentence.  
That’s just plain weird.

My response was returned with a nod as Nagito looked me up and down, seemingly inspecting my form with intrigue. I uh. I really don’t blame him for that. I’m a wispy looking light show now and I must look like I belong in the sky floating amongst the northern lights or something. 

After a few moments of studying me, Nagito’s demeanor shifted dramatically, going from a calm and relaxed persona to a more stern and serious one.  
“I would assume that we don’t have too much time to talk like this. After all, sleeping makes hours seem like minutes. So, let’s get right to it. What Monokuma said... He said your dream was to be me and to be friends with the Ultimates, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what he said. I don’t really understand much of what he meant though,” I confirmed, though I wasn’t too sure how Nagito knew about my encounter. Maybe he was seeing everything I was seeing? It would make sense if he were. And if he were seeing everything, then... Well, fuck. He’s going to have a front row seat of me being a dumbass.

After my reply, Nagito crossed his arms, going deep into thought as he seemed to mull over the events. “This is just my opinion, but there might be an ulterior motive for you being here. He claimed to not have a plan, but that might not be the case. From what he said to you, he doesn’t just do something to do something... It’s also implied that we knew him in some sort of timeline opposite to this one. If that’s true...” he trailed off, then blinked as the stage light began to dim around us. Giving me a small smile, Nagito sighed, “This might be the indication that our time is up for now. I’ll think more about it and give you my input the next time we can meet up again. Meanwhile, you keep on with doing the whole school trip thing for the both of us... And if you have the chance, try to talk with Monokuma again! Ask about—,”

The light was gone.


	19. Observations and Discussions

My eyes opened slowly as I found myself back on top of my bed. No more dark void. Just my cottage, which had a rich orange light twinkling through one of the windows.

That whole thing was a dream... Right? It was weird though. I remembered every part of it. And the fact that I could actually move around in it without being put on autopilot like usual was strange too. I could lucid dream if I really put effort into my logic during a dream, but it never was like that. Plus, it didn’t feel like I could take control of the dream and tilt it towards a desired one...

After mulling it over, I decided that I would bring it up to Chiaki and Hajime. The two teens were definitely less intimidating than the others and I just couldn’t help but feel more secure when I was with them. I won’t deny that most of the other kids were nice enough, but I still couldn’t get over my nervousness around them. 

Sitting up from my bed and stretching a little, I glanced over at the flower pin on my nightstand. I did say that I would try it out at dinner time... Gently picking it up, I made my way over to the bathroom and faced the mirror.  
Yeah, I still wasn’t used to my reflection. Still felt weird, still made me dizzy, but the impact of it was starting to diminish as my mind began to subconsciously recognize this face as my own... Which was more disturbing than reassuring.

Threading a hand through my hair, I tried to find a good side to clip the pin into it only to be met with a mess that morning bedheads only dream of being. I mean, I knew Nagito’s hair was all over the place, but geez. He really didn’t care to brush his hair much, did he? Yet somehow, it was almost as soft as a baby bunny. Amazing. Considering that, maybe that’s why he didn’t really take much time brushing it.

I decided on clipping the flower pin on the left side of my face just above my bangs, making sure it was secured well before inspecting myself in the mirror. If I had to guess, Nagito probably wouldn’t wear something like this regularly. Because of that, it definitely should work in terms of stopping the awkward ‘who are you’ question every morning for days to come... But I’d rather not want this to be too much longer. I had a gecko back home to feed and love, after all. Not to mention that my friends and family must be going crazy right now.

With a nod to my reflection, I left the bathroom and exited out of the cabin, making my way over to the hotel. This time, I made absolutely sure to be careful around the pool and not fall in the same way I did before. It could have been because of the whole luck thing, but I wasn’t about to take any chances. 

Upon entering, I was greeted with the distinct smell of... Curry? Oh man, now I was motivated to get up there in a flash. So, I began to rush towards stairs.  
... Which resulted in me tripping over my own feet and tumbling onto the floor. And here I thought I was used to the height difference now... Guess I still should hold off on running until I was absolutely used to it. With a sigh, I pushed myself off of the ground and carefully continued my way up to the hotel’s restaurant. 

As soon as I arrived, it was apparent that everyone had already gotten themselves situated in their own seats and were eagerly watching as Teruteru wheeled in a few pots of what I could only assume was the curry I had smelled. If our meal was already here, then I guess it would be best to wait to tell Hajime and Chiaki about the dream until after dinner...

Upon noticing my presence, Chiaki waved me over to the same table as before, where Hajime had also situated himself at. “You’re right on time. As you can see, dinner’s ready... Also, why are you wearing the flower pin we made?” she asked as I approached the seat that I had sat in during breakfast. 

Upon sitting down, I lightly touched the pin in my hair. “Usami gave it to me so people can tell if I’m still in Nagito’s body,” I explained, “I really do like it, all things considered. I don’t normally wear things like these in my hair, but this is really nice, you know? If I were me, I’d probably wear it from time to time.”

Our conversation was overheard by Mahiru, who decided to take a look herself. “It looks a bit weird for a boy’s body to wear it, but it actually works a little bit with how your personality makes him look,” she stated with a nod, smiling as she reached for the camera slung around her neck, “Mind if I..?”

“Oh, um, sure.”

My consent made her light up with excitement as she held her camera up. “Okay! Just stay right there and...”

Click!

“Good! I got all three of you in there. It looks nice!”

Oh, so she took it of the three of us. Looking to Hajime and Chiaki, they seemed to be fine with it at least. Maybe they were used to it? I mean, every vibe Mahiru was giving off practically screamed ‘Ultimate Photographer’. Chances are that she’s been snapping away on that camera of hers. 

“Alright, everyone! Come and get it while it’s still hot!”  
Upon hearing Teruteru’s announcement, each of us got up from our seats to inspect the meal that was prepared for us. From what I could see, there were two pots holding different types of curry with some fluffy white rice beside them. The difference between the two pots, however, was that the slightly smaller one had a slip of paper in front of it that read ‘EXTRA SPICY’. Well, I knew exactly which one I was going for. I just hope Nagito liked spicy food as much as I did. If he didn’t... Well, as someone who’s been eating food spicier than most can handle since childhood, I would reach a new level of depression. 

After grabbing my plate and serving myself up, the first thing I noticed about the ‘extra spicy’ curry was that its reddish-brown color was absolutely brutal, like how poisonous animals display bright colors to indicate their danger. And if I were stupid enough to not realize that obvious sign, then the smell would give it away. The array of strong spices completely cleared my sinuses as soon as I breathed it in.

Once I returned to my seat, I eagerly dug my spoon into the curry-covered rice, put the spoonful into my mouth, and...  
Yep, Nagito couldn’t really handle it as well as I could. He seemed to be able to tolerate it on a certain level, but unless Teruteru wanted to kill us with spicy curry by dumping Carolina reapers into it or some shit, my original heat limit was officially gone... But that’s way better than not liking spicy food anymore. I knew for a fact that I’d be going through water like there’s no tomorrow though. 

Yes, I know water doesn’t help with spicy foods.  
No, I do not care. 

As I continued my meal, I decided to use this time to observe the kids and their behaviors bit more. I know that I had seen them a couple of times already, but they all were just so fascinating to me for some reason. 

The first thing that I noticed was that Fuyuhiko and Peko were seated at a table together. Maybe my assumption back at the beach was right about them being friends after all. However, they didn’t really seem to be talking to each other much. I guess they just enjoy each other’s company.

Then was Akane and Nekomaru, who were simultaneously scarfing down their (rather large) portions in a way that could only be described as a competition. Didn’t Akane mention a race as well? Were they rivals? I just couldn’t help but smile as I recalled everything between them. Yep, they were made for each other. I wasn’t sure about relationships or anything, but they just connected like magnets. 

I had noticed Hiyoko’s attachment to Mahiru when she called her ‘big sis’, so it was pretty obvious that I could only describe her as seeing the photographer as a big sister. I was kind of jealous, all things considered. I never had siblings growing up nor did I ever have anyone I could call a ‘big sis’. I was glad for Hiyoko, really... And I was glad that she had Mahiru to keep her occupied rather than bully me or Mikan all the time, though she DID find time in her ‘schedule’ to bully regardless. Mikan more so than me.

Speaking of Mikan, she had apparently tripped in such a way that she was face first on the floor with her legs out wide, her panties out for all to see as her curry was in between, completely unharmed. Sweet Jesus, either she intended it or she’s unintentionally lewd. This display resulted in some of Hiyoko’s snide comments... And a very lustful look from Teruteru. Once again, I have to be careful around him. Hell, all of the girls have to be careful around him. 

In a desperate attempt to ignore the display (mainly because I didn’t want to have anyone getting the wrong idea), I took a look over to Ibuki and Byakuya. I didn’t notice it before, but now that I could see it more clearly, Ibuki seemed to have a liking for him. In fact, she seemed to be asking him a lot of excited questions despite him being busy eating about as voraciously as Akane and Nekomaru. Occasionally, Ibuki would give him a big hug and chirp, “Ibuki likes her pillow!”  
What amazed me was that Byakuya didn’t seem to mind when every factor of his personality would point towards him threatening legal action or something. 

These kids truly were something else. I couldn’t help but smile at each of them before looking back to my almost-finished curry. I knew that I couldn’t stay here and replace Nagito. Even if I enjoyed being here with everyone, it would be selfish to live his life just because I liked it better than my own. And that was the contradiction in Monokuma’s story. No way would I want to be someone else at the cost of getting rid of them. I mean, I like the whole body swapping concept in fiction, but the key words were ‘in fiction’. 

“Ginevra? Are you okay? You look a little down.”  
Apparently the upset expression caused by my train of thought was noticed by Chiaki.

“I guess. I’m just contemplating a few things on my mind,” I replied with a shrug, then looked to both her and Hajime, “Listen, I have something to talk to you two about. I’m not sure if it’s just nothing or not, but I want to discuss it with the both of you after dinner.”  
I’m not sure if it was because I sounded a bit more urgent than I was, but their instant nods in affirmation gave me a feeling of relief. 

Fortunately, dinner didn’t last too much longer after my request. Akane ended up winning the ‘competition’, Mikan was fine with no visible injuries after her fall, Ibuki continued to give Byakuya occasional hugs afterwards... Yeah, I had a pretty good feeling that this going to be considered normal.  
Eventually, the restaurant had cleared, leaving me alone with Hajime and Chiaki, who were both looking at me with undivided attention.

Adjusting my parka uneasily, I glanced to each one respectively. “Well, uh. While I was asleep, I had a dream... Only it didn’t exactly feel much like a usual dream you would get. And in it, I met Nagito,” I explained, which caused the two teens to become confused as they took this information in.

“You... Met him?” Hajime repeated, his brow furrowing, “What exactly did he say?”  
Chiaki nodded once he replied, seemingly indicating her similar curiosity towards my story. At least they didn’t immediately dismiss my claims when I said them... That was actually one of the things that I was the most worried about. 

“I didn’t really get to talk to him for too long. He was mainly evaluating everything that had happened with me and trying to figure out what Monokuma was hoping to accomplish,” I replied as I began to recall the conversation, “What stood out the most to me about what he said is that he personally believes that Monokuma has a bigger plan already in place regarding my reason for being here. He also wants me to talk more with him about something, but I woke up before I could hear what.”

“Hm... It would be weird for you to be here without a better reason other than just you wanting to be here,” Chiaki agreed, “Is there anything else that he said?”  
I shook my head.  
“Well, this is big. If this is the real deal, then this’ll change everything about what’s going on with you.”

“Yeah. And it might be a long shot, but maybe you can try going to sleep tonight with the intention of talking with him? Like, have it on the brain while you’re about to fall asleep,” Hajime suggested as Chiaki nodded in agreement. Well, it was worth a shot. There was so much more I wanted to talk to Nagito about, after all. Unfortunately, there was also the chance of it not being anything at all...

Yet somehow, I had a feeling that it wasn’t something to be disregarded. So, after saying my goodbyes to Hajime and Chiaki, I left to my cabin to try to see Nagito again.


	20. Bygones Be Bygones

I had hoped that my sleep that night would allow me to see Nagito again. In fact, I had made a mental list of the questions that I wanted to ask him... But unfortunately, I was only met with an uneventful slumber. I did remember snippets of a dream I had, but that wasn’t really what I would call different from usual. Or helpful. 

After coaxing myself out of my bed and stretching, I went on a sort of autopilot as I proceeded through the motions of getting ready for the day. I wasn’t sure when Usami would be wanting all of us to gather materials again, but it was better to be ready than not.   
... Should I take a shower? Maybe after the whole material-gathering is done with. Yes, I know that I was stalling. No, I don’t care. 

Before I knew it, I was dressed in new clothes and on my way towards the door. Not thinking about how different my body was really helped with just getting it over with... Great, now I’m thinking about it again.  
Taking one last look back into my cottage, I could see that I needed to begin cleaning it up a little bit sometime. I might have cleaned it up after Monokuma trashing it, but that was a disgruntled ‘as-long-as-it-looks-presentable’ kind of cleaning. Usami did say that we needed to keep the overall location clean or else we’d have to do something ‘dweadful’...

Yeah, I’ll be volunteering to help clean up. Hopefully I wouldn’t be the only one. Besides, the physical labor from yesterday really took a lot out of me. I still felt pretty tired after going through all of that, so helping with something less exerting would keep me from falling out from exhaustion at least. 

I then spied the flower pin sitting on my nightstand, which made me blink as I remembered the purpose for it. I had nearly forgotten to put it on... I guess autopilot doesn’t help with things that aren’t what I would normally do. Better start making this routine as well. Taking it up and pinning it into Nagito’s perpetual bedhead, I was officially ready to go out in public. 

As I exited my cabin and began to make my way towards the restaurant, I was nearly tackled to the ground from behind. I didn’t get knocked down, fortunately, however two hands shielded my eyes as I heard giggling from the culprit. “Ginny! You’re Ginny, right?! Ibuki can see the flower! Guess who this is!”

I didn’t feel like pointing out that she had just given herself away and just decided to ‘guess’. “Um... Ibuki.”  
My answer caused the girl to laugh as she pulled her hands away. 

“Yep! That’s me!” she chirped as she skipped in front of me, “I was gonna go to the restaurant on my own, but this is practically destiny! We gotta go together, right?”  
She didn’t wait for me to answer because she took my arm and began to drag me to the restaurant, chattering away with each step she took. 

“I was sooo worried that you’d be gone today! In fact, Ibuki didn’t see the flower pin right away, so she thought that she would have to live without saying goodbye! I don’t think that would even count as living! It would be like living as a husk! It would be torture! OH! That’s a good idea for a song! ‘Living A Dead Life As An Empty Husk’! It seems pretty similar to ‘Dying As An Empty Shell Of Myself’ though. Nothing a few revisions can’t handle! And once it’s done, you’ll be getting a front row seat to every concert I play it at!”

The speed of Ibuki’s words seemed to get faster and faster the more I tried to keep up with her. What the hell kind of song names even are ‘Dying As An Empty Shell Of Myself’ and ‘Living A Dead Life As An Empty Husk’? They both sound absolutely brutal... Wait, what was that about concerts? She wasn’t serious about actually writing a song centered around ‘Living A Dead Life As An Empty Husk’... Right?

As I thought more, the realization of what Ibuki’s talent was slowly dawned on me... Which then made me mentally facepalm for not realizing based on her usual garb.  
She’s the Ultimate Songwriter. Or Musician. Or Rockstar. One of those three. Ultimate Musician sounds better, so maybe that’s what her title is. I guess I’ll have to ask Hajime if I’m right or not later. 

As Ibuki continued chatting away, the two of us walked up the stairs to the dining area. I had expected to encounter Hajime or Chiaki by the time I arrived, but apparently I had arrived a bit too early, seeing as most of the kids weren’t inside the restaurant yet. The only ones in the dining area aside from Ibuki and I were Kazuichi and Byakuya, however the familiar scent of breakfast foods coming from the kitchen indicated that Teruteru was also in the building putting his talent to use. 

Giving the two of them a smile, I waved and made my way over to my usual table to wait for everyone else to show up. As much as I wanted to get to know the both of them better, I also was a bit nervous around them to say the least. Kazuichi even more so than Byakuya. As much as I wanted to get along with everyone, it was hard when you know that someone doesn’t feel comfortable around you. In fact, after I sat down and made myself comfortable, I could just feel his eyes piercing into me.

I just couldn’t see myself trying to make small talk with him. I mean, he hated me. And Ibuki had already started talking with Byakuya, so it would be weird to just butt into their own conversation.

Maybe I should just.   
Sit here.  
And wait for everyone else.  
... Yeah this is just making me feel even more awkward. As much as my anxiety-riddled brain was against it, this must be a clear sign for me to just suck it up and try to get along with Kazuichi. We were going to be here for a few months, after all. Plus, there was the issue concerning ‘hope fragments’ or whatever they’re called. From what I knew about it, the class and I had to collect them in order to qualify for getting off the island. And in order to collect them, we had to socialize with one another and become friends... In other words, I have to overcome my social anxiety and make friends with everyone around me or else I’ll be hindering the entire class and stranding them on an uninhabited vacation resort with no way of contacting their families.  
That’s just great.

Taking a deep breath, I got up from my seat and reluctantly trudged over to Kazuichi, who quickly looked the other way in order to seem as if he HADN’T been staring at me since I entered the room. Well, it appeared as if I was the one that had to start the conversation. Thanks, Kazuichi. Really. “I, um... I think we got off on the wrong foot. Can we start over? Maybe try to be friends?” I offered, the nervousness in my voice apparent as his vivid pink irises scanned my uneasy posture.

After studying me for a few more seconds, Kazuichi shifted a little bit in his seat before averting his gaze away from me. “Uh... Yeah. I don’t mind. B-but I’m only agreeing because of the whole hope fragment business. It’s still not possible for someone to wake up in the wrong body and don’t think for a second that you’ve convinced me otherwise, okay?”  
Yeah I didn’t expect him to willingly agree to this. I mean, the only reason I was attempting this was also because of the hope fragments. And to stop stressing out over the idea of someone hating me. 

“I’m fine with that. I just really didn’t want you to hate me is all. We don’t have to get along too well, but we don’t have to be at each other’s throats about this, right?” I replied with a small smile. My response seemed to catch the boy off guard, because his face showed genuine surprise after the words left my mouth.

“H-hate you?” he sputtered, “I-I don’t hate you! I just really don’t appreciate you spending so much time with Miss Sonia! I mean—I’m not JEALOUS or anything! Far from it! I’m just... I’m just concerned about her wellbeing! She’s so caring for others and this whole thing involving you has been taking up her time and energy! I don’t want to watch a lovely angel like her get burnt out from her caring nature!”

... That had to be one of the biggest piles of bullshit I have ever had the privilege of listening to. But hey, I’ll take that over constantly having a nagging worry that he hated my existence for the rest of my life. At least I managed to break the ice though, so I guess we can talk without it being too tense.

So, that’s exactly what we did. Turns out, he was the Ultimate Mechanic. Didn’t really get much more information other than that, but it was a start. Maybe this whole thing involving forced interactions would be beneficial to me in terms of becoming more comfortable around others. Don’t get me wrong, I had already been working on it, but it was more situational than not. Now that I had more of a reason to, I could see my social battery growing to three hours instead of two. Maybe more. 

It was after our conversation that I realized the room had filled up with a few more occupants, those of which being Sonia, Nekomaru, and Akane—oh wait, Peko and Fuyuhiko were just entering as well. At the same time.

... We’re they going out or something? They always seemed to enjoy each other’s company... Maybe they discovered that the two of them got along well together and decided to just stick together. Cute.

It was around this moment that the doors to the kitchen swung open, revealing Teruteru wheeling in a cart stacked with the usual buffet items I had the honor of helping myself. In fact, I was amazed that he managed to pile so many different dishes onto the cart in general.

... Okay, I had been conditioned to ask if someone needs help when witnessing a job that needed more than one person, but amazingly, I found myself reluctant to help. Maybe it was because of how creepy he was? Yeah probably. He showed obvious signs of attraction to anyone in all the wrong ways and asking to help him would just be digging my own grave.  
“Do you need help with that?”  
Oh god dammit. Stupid force of habit.

Upon hearing me (unintentionally) offer to help, Teruteru turned towards me, glanced at the pin in my hair, then gave me that unnerving smile I hated so much. “Of course you can. Be sure to stay close to me in case you fall though. I’ll be extra sure to catch you...”

The shiver that went down my spine when he said he’d catch me clearly was my subconscious trying to warn me about the incoming danger. However, I was now backed into a corner. I couldn’t just say ‘I changed my mind’ right when I offered... Fuck it all. Forcing a smile, I went towards the cart and took a plate holding a large stack of (extremely delicious looking) waffles. Hm. It’s been a while since I’ve had waffles. Maybe these will be what I have today. 

Fortunately, setting up the buffet didn’t take too long. Stepping back to take a look at our work, it really did look pretty professional. It was as if staring at it could make anyone hungry. Definitely dangerous to look at for long periods of time. “Thanks for the help, cher,” Teruteru said with a wink (eugh). In response, I just nodded then began to return to my usual spot...  
While feeling his leering eyes watching me.  
In fact, I saw just what he was staring at in the corner of my eye. Yep. He was staring at my ass. He DOES remember that the body he was checking out wasn’t mine, right?! 

This sealed the deal completely. I will not be associating myself with him for at least a week.


End file.
